Lot 1203
Gaius Caligula, with Germanicus. Silver Denarius (4.00 g), AD 37-41. Lugdunum, AD 37/8. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, laureate head of Gaius right. Rev. GERMANICVS CAES P C CAES AVG GERM, bare head of Germanicus right. (RIC 18; Lyon 172; BMC 19; RSC 2). Nice old cabinet toning. Extremely fine. Estimate $9,500UP
Ex Leu 71 (24 October 1997), lot 301.
Ex J. C. S. Rashleigh Collection (Glendining's, 14 January 1953), lot 484.
Germanicus was the son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia, the daughter of Mark Antony, and was born in 15 BC. A scion of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he also became one of Rome's most successful and beloved generals, having avenged Varus' defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, retrieving two of the three lost standards and inflicting heavy defeats against Arminius, the protagonist in Varus campaign. He was not as successful in the field of politics, however, having inadvertently usurped the imperial prerogative on more than one occasion. The most egregious instance was his ordering the recall of the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, for having canceled some of the arrangements for the settlement of Cappadocia and Commagene that Germanicus had ordered. Shortly after this episode, Germanicus fell severely ill and died at Antioch. Suspicion immediately fell on Piso, and it was thought that he had poisoned Germanicus at the instigation of Tiberius who was suspicious of Germanicus' popularity. The truth was never discovered, however, as Piso reportedly took his own life during the course of his trial (Tacitus believed Tiberius may have had him murdered before he could implicate the emperor in Germanicus' death).
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