Rare Britannicus Sestertius

Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 999. Estimate $3000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $4150. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Britannicus. AD 41-55. Æ Sestertius (23.70 g, 7h). Thracian mint. Struck under Claudius, AD 50-54. Bare-headed and draped bust left / Mars advancing left, holding spear and shield. RIC I p. 130, note; von Kaenel, Thrakien, Type B, B8 (same obv. die). Near Fine, red-brown and green patina, minor porosity. Rare.

The attribution of Britannicus’ sestertii has been a matter of some controversy. In earlier scholarship, the issue had been attributed to Rome around the end of Claudius’ reign when Britannicus adopted the toga virilis. Mattingly demonstrated that such an attribution was problematic, as the Roman mint was not producing aes at that time, and he assigned the type instead to the early years of Titus, when many restoration and commemorative issues were being struck. More recently, substantial numbers of Latin coins (sestertii and dupondii) in the name of Britannicus, Agrippina Jr., Nero Caesar, and Nero Augustus have been found localized in the Balkan region, and von Kaenel argued for a Thracian origin for the series. Von Kaenel’s analysis must be correct, for the style and fabric of the coins, as well as the find spots, indicate a Thracian mint, and there is nothing in the types or legends to suggest that any of these coins are posthumous. These local issues would have been struck for use by the legions servicing the border.