An Intriquing Issue

217, Lot: 268. Estimate $100. Sold for $76. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MYSIA, Cyzicus. Caius & Lucius(?). Caesars, 20 BC-AD 4 and 17 BC-AD 2. Æ 13mm (1.61 g, 12h). Bare male head right / Bare male head right. RPC I 2246; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Ashmolean 1188. VF, green patina.

From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

The attribution of a specific Julio-Claudian prince to each of these portraits remains a matter of conjecture. Mionnet believed them to be portraits of Caius and Lucius Caesars, an interpretation the authors of RPC believed quite plausible. They do note, however, that the index to the von Aulock collection interprets this issue both as Caius and Lucius, and Drusus and Germanicus, all of whom became potential heirs to the imperial throne. Barring any more conclusive evidence, the matter will remain unresolved.