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Rome, 15.5.2023
Dear,
below are the significant elements concerning the
figure coin:
Sestertius1,
mint of Rome, 37-38 A. D.2, RIC I
33 (page 110), BMC I
37 (pag. 152), Cohen
I 4 (pag. 237),
indice di rarità "R"
Summary description (worn or otherwise illegible
parts of the legend are indicated in red):
D. C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS
PON M TR POT3. Caligula,
laureate head left.
R. AGRIPPINA
DRVSILLA IVLIA, left, top and right
respectively. S C
in exergue. Gaius' three sisters standind facing,
draped; Agrippina holds cornucopia in right, resting
on columnj (Securitas), with l. on shoulder of
Drusilla, who holds patera in r. and cornucopia in
l. (Concordia); Julia holds rudder with r. and
cornucopia in l. (Fortuna); SC in exergue4.
The search on the web for coins of the type of
figure gave rise to the following results:
- cngcoins
eAuction Electronic Auction 534 Lot nuber 526
Gaius (Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ Sestertius (34mm,
6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 37-38. In ANACS
encapsulation 6074615, graded F 15, Tooled.
Electronic Auction 534 Lot: 526. Estimated: $500.
Roman Imperial, Bronze. Sold For $1 000. Gaius
(Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 6h).
Rome mint. Struck AD 37-38. Laureate head left /
AGRIPPINA on left, DRVSILLA above, IVLIA on right,
Gaius' three sisters standing facing: Agrippina
(as Securitas) leaning on column, holding
cornucopia, and placing hand on Drusilla (as
Concordia), holding patera and cornucopia; on
right, Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and
cornucopia; S C in exergue. RIC I 33. In ANACS
encapsulation 6074615, graded F 15, Tooled.
Closing Date and Time: 15 March 2023 at 12:55:00
ET.
- https://www.romanumismatics.com/270-lot-773-caligula-a-sestertius?auction_id=171&view=lot_detail
E-Sale 105, 19-01-2023, Lot 773. Caligula Æ
Sestertius. Description Caligula Æ Sestertius.
Rome, AD 37-38. C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON [M TR
POT], laureate head to left / AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA
IVLIA, the three sisters of Caligula standing
facing: Agrippina, as Securitas, holds cornucopiae
in right hand resting on column, with left hand on
shoulder of Drusilla, as Concordia, who holds
patera and cornucopiae; Julia, as Fortuna, holds
rudder and cornucopiae; S C in exergue. RIC I 33;
C. 4; BN 4; BMCRE 36. 25.26g, 34mm, 6h. Near Very
Fine. From the collection of Z.P., Austria.
Hammered For: £1,100.
- https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10322572
CGB.fr http://www.cgbfr.com/ Live Auction December
2022 772314 06.12.2022 Description Roman coins
CALIGULA Type: Sesterce Date: 37-38 Mint name /
Town: Rome Metal: copper Diameter: 34,5mm
Orientation dies: 6h. Weight: 19,30g. Rarity: R2
Obverse legend: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR
POT Obverse description: Tête laurée de Caligula à
gauche (O*1) Obverse translation: “Caius Cæsar
Augustus Germanicus Pontifex Maximus Tribunicia
Potestate”, (Caius césar auguste germanique grand
pontife revêtu de la puissance tribunitienne)
Reverse legend: AGRIPPINA - DRVSILLA - IVLIA
Reverse description: Les trois soeurs de Caligula
avec les attributs de la Sécurité, de la Concorde
et de la Fortune Reverse translation: “Agrippina
Drusilla Iulia”, (Agrippine, Drusilla, Julie)
Catalogue references: RCV.1800 (12800$) -
RIC.33 - BMC/RE.36 - C.4 -
BN/R.47 - MRK.11 /7 (5000€) Grade: VF.
- https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10122037
Numismatik Naumann (formerly Gitbud & Naumann)
http://www.numismatik-naumann.at/ Image:
Numismatik Naumann (formerly Gitbud & Naumann)
Auction 122 651 06.11.2022 Description Roman
Imperial Coins CALIGULA (37-41). Sestertius. Rome.
Obv: C CAESAR AVG GERMANIVCVS PON M TR POT.
Laureate head left. Rev: AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA
/ S C. Gaius' three sisters standing facing:
Agrippina (as Securitas) leaning on column,
holding cornucopia, and placing hand on Drusilla
(as Concordia), holding patera and cornucopia; on
right, Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and
cornucopia. RIC² 33. Condition: Fine. Weight:
26.98g. Diameter: 35 mm. 520€.
- vcoins
€2,754.30 Rates for: 05/14/23 Caligula Orichalcum
Sestertius. Rome Mint 37-38 AD. Obverse: C CAESAR
AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, laureate head left.
Reverse: AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA S C, the three
sisters of Caligula standing, in the guises of
Securitas, Concordia and Fortuna. RIC I: 33 Rare.
Size: 34mm, 27.30g. Numismatic Notes: A very rare
type featuring the three sisters of Caligula! Good
fine, but pitted. A lovely example of this very
hard to get coin!
- https://thesaurus.bidinside.com/en/lot/5497/caligola-37-41-sesterzio-gr24-d-testa-/
Starting price: 4.500,00 EUR. CALIGOLA (37-41)
SESTERZIO gr.24 - D/Testa laureata a d. CCAESAR
AVG GERMANICVS PON MT R POT R/Le tre sorelle di
Caligola affiancate, Agrippina, Drussilla e Iulia
AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA All'esergo: S C - Ae -
RIC.33 RARA Eccellente patina verde SPL. Notes
View current winning bid (if present) on Thesaurus
Auctions official website.
- https://www.astetinia.it/it/lot/541/roma-caligola-sesterzio-37-38-ae-2744g-/
LOTTO 541 - ASTA NUMISMATICA «CESARE» Roma,
Caligola, Sesterzio, 37-38, ... Base d'asta:
7.500,00 EUR
Aggiudicazione: 7.500,00 EUR Numero offerte: 1.
Roma, Caligola, Sesterzio, 37-38, AE (27,44g x
35mm); D/ C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT;
testa laureata. R/ AGRIPPINA - DRUSILLA - IVLIA; S
C; le tre sorelle di Caligola con le fattezze
della Securitas, Concordia e Fortuna. RIC 33; BMC
37 – Rara - Ritratto scelto; tondello regolare e
perfettamente centrato; emissione ricercata;
bellissimo modulo. Grading/Stato: BB.
- vcoins
€169.85 Rates for: 05/14/23 Marc Breitsprecher,
Classical Numismatist Ancient Coins ROMAN. Era of
the 12 Caesars. Caligula Æ Sestertius / Three
Sisters. Attribution: RIC I 33 Date: 37-41 AD.
Obverse: C CAESAR AVG GERMANIVCVS PON M TR POT;
Laureate head left. Reverse: [AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA
IVLIA / S C]; Caligula's three sisters, Agrippina
(as Securitas) leaning on column, holding
cornucopia, and placing hand on Drusilla (as
Concordia), holding patera and cornucopia; on
right, Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and
cornucopia. Size: 34.53mm. Weight: 22.08grams.
Description: VG. Worn and affordable.
- https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=57921
Sale: Triton VIII, Lot: 999. Estimate $5000.
Closing Date: Monday, 10 January 2005. Sold For
$3250. GAIUS (CALIGULA). 37-41 AD. Æ Sestertius
(26.83g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck 37-38 AD. C CAESAR
AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, laureate head left /
AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA, S C in exergue, Gaius'
three sisters standing facing: Agrippina (as
Securitas) leaning on column, holding cornucopiae,
and placing hand on Drusilla (as Concordia),
holding patera and cornucopiae; Julia (as Fortuna)
holding rudder and cornucopiae. RIC I 33; MIR 3,
8-4; CNR XII, 56 (this coin); BMCRE 37; BN 49;
Cohen 4. Near EF, mottled red, brown, and green
patina, minor roughness, minor pitting and
smoothing in fields. ($5000). From the Michael
Weller Collection. Ex Leu 54 (28 April 1992), lot
221; Leu 22 (8-9 May 1979), lot 194; Leu 2 (25
April 1972), lot 361.
- cngcoins
eAuction Electronic Auction 460 Gaius (Caligula).
AD 37-41. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 28.48g, 6h). Rome
mint. Struck AD 37-38. Electronic Auction 460 Lot:
499. Estimated: $ 1 500. The Summer Haven
Collection of Sestertii, Bronze. Sold For $ 3 500.
Gaius (Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ Sestertius (35mm,
28.48 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 37-38. Laureate
head left / Gaius' three sisters standing facing:
Agrippina (as Securitas) leaning on column,
holding cornucopia, and placing hand on Drusilla
(as Concordia), holding patera and cornucopia; on
right, Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and
cornucopia. RIC I 33; BMCRE 36-7; BN 47-9. Olive
green-brown surfaces, recutting in the hiar of
Caligula, minor roughness. VF. From the Summer
Haven Collection. On this popular and graceful
reverse, the three sisters of Gaius (Caligula) are
portrayed in the guises of three goddesses:
Securitas (Agrippina), Concordia (Drusilla) and
Fortuna (Julia). All three were subject to lurid
speculation that was preserved in contemporary
histories of the reign. Drusilla, reportedly his
favorite (and subject of his incestuous
attentions), died of a sudden illness in 38 AD at
the age of 22. Caligula’s grief was tremendous and
ordered her deified, making her the first woman to
be so honored. Drusilla’s widowed husband, Marcus
Aemilius Lepidus, then reportedly became lovers
with both of the surviving two sisters, perhaps as
part of a conspiracy to replace Caligula. Their
plotting was detected in the summer of AD 39;
Lepidus was executed and Julia and Agrippina
exiled to the Pontine Islands. Closing Date and
Time: 29 January 2020 at 12:46:00 ET.
The coin should be observed closely because the degree
of wear of the two faces of the coin appears uneven
and this raises doubts about the authenticity of the
sample.
Best regards.
Giulio De Florio
---------------------------------------------
Notes:
(1) Orichalcum
sesterce. According to BMC, the weight of
Caligula's sesterces thickens around 27.63g. I
collect in the table below the physical
characteristics of the Sesterces of the type of
figure drawn from the links above:
| References |
Weight(g) |
Diameter(mm) |
Die
axis(h) |
| Link1 |
- |
34 |
6 |
| Link2 |
25,26 |
34 |
6 |
| Link3 |
19,30 |
34,5 |
6 |
| Link4 |
26,98 |
35 |
- |
| Link5 |
27,30 |
34 |
- |
| Link6 |
24 |
- |
- |
| Link7 |
27,44 |
35 |
- |
| Link8 |
25,19 |
34 |
7 |
| Link9 |
26,83 |
- |
7 |
| Link10 |
28,48 |
35 |
6 |
In the absence of the physical characteristics of
the sample under examination, it will not be
possible to carry out a comparative examination with
the genuine coins of the period, nor to determine
with certainty the type of nominal
(2) I draw from the Ric the
dating of the sample in question, January 236 -
March, April 238.
(3) C C AESAR
AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT (Caius
CAESAR AVGustus GERMANICVS PONtifex Maximus
TRibunicia POTestate). Germanicus is the patronymic
of Caligula. Germanicus, a young and brilliant
member of the Julio-Claudia family, had
distinguished himself on the battlefields,
particularly in Germany, where he had inflicted
serious defeats on the barbarian tribes and
recovered the legionary banners lost in Verus'
defeat. Scelto come successore di Tiberio, era morto
anzitempo per cause sconosciute. La sua enorme
popolarità (era chiamato delizia del popolo romano)
aveva aiutato Caio nell'ascesa alla morte di
Tiberio.
Chosen as Tiberius' successor, he died prematurely
of unknown causes. His enormous popularity, he was
called "delight of the Roman people", had helped
Caius in the ascent after Tiberius' death.
Historical profile: Caligula's great-grandmother,
Livia Drusilla, had first married Tiberius Claudius
Nero and from their union had derived the maternal
descent of Caligula. When Livia Drusilla married
Augustus, the founder of the Julio-Claudian dynasty
(see
link), he recognized his wife's first children
as his own, which is why Caligula could declare
himself the founder's great-grandson (see family
tree). After his rise, Caligula, driven by a
desire for absolutist self-affirmation, made himself
responsible for a senseless finance. To cope with
crazy expenses aimed at beautifying Rome (such as
the establishment of lake fleets or the transfer
from Egypt of the Vatican obelisk, etc.) he resorted
extensively to convictions followed by the
confiscation of goods in the name of the most
obvious arbitrariness; in foreign policy he began
logistical preparations for the invasion of Britain
without proceedi It was the Praetorians who
assassinated him and decided the name of his
successor, Claudius, without consulting the Senate.
The character is controversial, also for the
scarcity of sourcesng to the conquest. (v. link).
(4) AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA are
Caligula's sisters to whom the emperor granted the
honors due to the Vestal Virgins. The reason for the
great popularity of the coin in figure and the
reason why it is in great demand on the collecting
market is linked to some historical sources
(contemporary Suetonius and Josephus Flavius,
Eutropius, Aurelius Victor, St. Jerome, Orosius and
the anonymous compiler of the "Epitome de
Caesaribus", who lived in the 4th and 5th
centuries). They reported on the incestuous
relations that Caligula allegedly had with his
sisters (see link). The
consistency of these rumors, greeted with skepticism
by scholars moderns, is impossible to ascertain. The
typology of the reverse of this coin, in which the
three sisters are indicated by name and represented
in the guise of a personification (Agrippina Junior,
the eldest, is the Securitas, the second, Drusilla
is the Concordia, the youngest, Julia Livilla, is
the Fortuna), has a political and dynastic
character. The type was used in two issues, first in
37-38 (like the coin under review) and then in 39-40
when Drusilla, Caligula's favorite, was by then dead
and deified (singular the deification of a
personification!). After Drusilla's death palace
life had deteriorated and the affection of Caligula
for the sisters declined. Circumstances reported by
ancient sources are nothing short of bizarre:
Drusilla had been married to Marco Aemilius Lepidus,
who had also been the lover of Caligula.At least
after Drusilla' death, Lepidus had included in the
round of his sexual relations his former
sisters-in-law Agrippina and Giulia Livilla. It
seems that towards the end of 39, from this network
of relations originated a plot against Caligula,
which, unveiled, had the consequence that Lepidus
was executed and the surviving Caligula's sisters
exiled on suspicion of complicity. The palace
intrigue occurred while the second issue was
underway that Caligula probably tried to block
because of the three sisters, one was now dead and
the other two were in exile. This is why the coins
of the second issue are extremely rare, R5 according
to the Ric. |
