|
Claudius. AD 41-54. AV Aureus (18.5mm, 7.79 g, 3h). Rome mint. Struck AD 44-45. TI CLAVD • CAESAR • AVG • P • M • TR • P • IIII, laureate head right / Battlemented wall inscribed IMPER • RECEPT enclosing praetorian camp in which Fides Praetorianorum stands left, holding spear in right hand, aquila before him; behind, a pediment with fortified flanking walls. C. Alexander, “Additions to the Gallery of Greek and Roman Daily Life,” in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 8 (August 1938), p. 185 (this coin); RIC I 25; von Kaenel type 21 (V-/R321 [unrecorded obv. die]); Calicó 361; BMCRE 23; BN 43-4 (Lugdunum mint); Elkins, Monuments Figure 71. EF. Lustrous.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Triton XI (8 January 2008), lot 891; Numismatica Ars Classica 40 (16 May 2007), lot 659; Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection (Sotheby’s, 10 November 1972), lot 35.
One of my first aurei, and always one of my favorites. Perfectly centered with mint luster and great provenance. A joy to hold in hand. I personally prefer this coin to any other Claudius aureus I've seen. (PLZ)
Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, known to history simply as Claudius, was the son of Nero Claudius Drusus (Drusus the Elder) and Antonia Minor, having been born at Lugdunum in 10 BC. He was thus a direct descendant of Mark Antony, brother to the popular Germanicus, and nephew to the emperor Tiberius. Despite these bloodlines, during his youth he struggled with a limp, a stammer, and a tremor, essentially keeping him ostracized from normal imperial responsibilities. These “flaws” likely worked to his advantage as he was ignored during the purges throughout the reigns of both Tiberius and Caligula. He was simply seen as too unfit to be a threat. Nonetheless, he did share consulship with Caligula in AD 37, perhaps as a kind of joke on the Roman people. The four years of Caligula’s reign would be fraught with fear and would only come to an end with his murder at the hands of several senators and Cassius Chaerea, a military tribune in the very Praetorian Guard who would elevate Claudius to power.
According to the historian Suetonius (Claud. 10.1-4), in the wake of Caligula’s assassination Pretorian soldiers found Claudius cowering behind a palace curtain and immediately hailed him as emperor. The befuddled Claudius was then removed to the Praetorian camp, which had been constructed almost 15 years earlier under the powerful prefect Sejanus and located at the northeastern outskirts of the capital. For the next several days, Claudius remained under the guard’s “protection” while diplomatic maneuvers secured senatorial acceptance of his succession. Because of the Praetorians’ strategic involvement in these events, Claudius rewarded them with a donative of 15,000 sesterces per member, renewed annually for the next several years, ostensibly commemorating their protection of him during the first days of his reign, but, in fact, acknowledging their central role in his accession.
With this inauspicious beginning it is somewhat of a surprise that Claudius would go on to rule the empire admirably and ably. He extended the territories of the empire by annexing Thrace, Noricum, Judaea, and Lycia. His most well-known act was the conquest of Britain, which began in 43 AD. Perhaps the Praetorian Guard had elevated the most unlikely of candidates, but what Rome got was a capable administrator and ruler who served the empire well for 14 years.
This attractive gold aureus combines an excellent portrait of Claudius with a depiction of the Praetorian camp, which proved so instrumental in his survival and elevation to the throne. This is one of the most desired types for Claudius.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
|
