EGYPT, Alexandria. Claudius, with Britannicus, Antonia, and Octavia. AD 41-54. BI Didrachm (19mm, 5.20 g, 11h). Dated RY 3 (AD 42/3). Near VF.

Electronic Auction 536
Lot: 381. Estimated: $ 150

Roman Provincial, Billon

Sold For $ 700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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EGYPT, Alexandria. Claudius, with Britannicus, Antonia, and Octavia. AD 41-54. BI Didrachm (19mm, 5.20 g, 11h). Dated RY 3 (AD 42/3). Laureate head right; L Γ (date) before / Crossed cornucopias, each surmounted by female bust (Antonia and Octavia), vis-à-vis; between them, bust of a boy right (Britannicus), which is above AYTO/KPA in two lines. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 118; K&G 12.24; RPC I 5135; Emmett 75.3 (R3); B. Lichocka, “Claudius’s Issue of Silver Didrachms in Alexandria: Emperor’s Children and Crossed Cornucopias” in Ètudes et Travaux XXVI (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 2013), pp. 428-45. Toned, metal flaw on obverse. Near VF. Very rare.

An extremely rare coin, and the only collectible didrachm (billon or otherwise) issued in Alexandria during the Roman Imperial period. (Erik Christiansen in The Roman Coins of Alexandria lists two unique didrachms for Nero, regnal years 3 and 4, the first in Athens, the second in Berlin.) Claudius also issued a billon drachm (RPC I 5136), which is of equal rarity.

Closing Date and Time: 12 April 2023 at 12:06:40 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 20% buyer’s fee.