My first ancient Roman coin: Claudius II Gothicus tetradrachm

CertifiedGoldCoins

Claudius II billon Tetradrachm of Alexandria, struck AD 269-270.
High relief laureate bust of Claudius II ("Gothicus") facing right, legend AVT K KLAVDIOC CEB. Reverse eagle stands right, head turned left, wreath in beak, date L B (year 2 of his reign) in the field. Alexandrian portraits like this one for Claudius II were far superior to the portraits of him used on Imperial coins struck in Rome. This coin measures 21 mm, and weighs 10.49 grams; ref: Köln 3027.

Claudius was a much loved Emperor, especially by his legions, for having decisively defeated the invasion from the North of the Alemanni and the Goths (thus his honorary title). This was no small feat, because the army assembled by the invaders was 320,000 strong. His reign was cut short after he contracted the plague, and died at Sirmium early in 270, at the age of 56. He was deified by the Senate.

Actually, this piece was not actually "the" first ancient coin I ever owned. I bought one, just like this, around 1960, for $6, and it's long gone. When I saw this one, I had to have it, so coughed up $75. The photos below show it actual size.

farthing

Nice coin and love the relief!

Phoenix21

Nice coin!! I like it.

Phoenix

lordmarcovan

I see your Claudius Gothicus (nice provincial, BTW), and raise you one.

The portraiture is far superior on yours, of course.

lordmarcovan

Might as well post the first Claudius, too, because... because... well, just because.

CertifiedGoldCoins

OK, I'll see your Claudius As, and raise you ....



.... two denarii.





Just so non-ancients collectors know the difference, these were coined for the first Claudius, Augustus 41-54 A.D. He was the fifth of the so-called Twelve Caesars. Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus went from hiding behind curtains at the palace when Caligula was assassinated to being hailed as Augustus by the Praetorian Guard. This was in spite of his physical deficiencies and perplexing personal traits, and in the face of Senatorial opposition. Claudius treated the soldiers very well thereafter, and by added security measures, was able to survive many later attempted coups. He put considerable effort into his judicial role, reorganized the Roman navy, and annexed Britain and Thrace as Roman provinces.

Pictures aren't so good, but that was 4-5 years ago. There are a lot more that I took. About 10,000 are HERE.

covers

My first Claudius (and Agrippina Jr), cistophorous, Ephesus mint, 11.3g, RIC 117, RF 4-1, ex Sternberg, 41 A.D.
Obv. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG PM TR P X IMP, head r
Rev. AGRIPPINA AVGVSTA CAESARIS AVH, bust r:

lordmarcovan

I'll have to fold, since because I was doing an emperor portrait set, I only had one from each Claudius. You win.

CertifiedGoldCoins

<< <i>I'll have to fold, since because I was doing an emperor portrait set, I only had one from each Claudius. You win. >>

Darn. Well, that saves me trouble of looking for that aureus pic (just kidding). It would have been nice if you could have continued with that, but it is a set that would probably never be completed.



<< <i>My first Claudius (and Agrippina Jr), cistophorous, Ephesus mint >>

Great coin. I love the irony of them both on the same coin, as well as her and Nero. What a family.

WillieBoyd2

Deleted

CertifiedGoldCoins

Nice Web site, WillieBoyd2. A little bit of everything.

covers

An update (meaning finally got my very small collection uploaded) - my site of Romans

PS - I welcome offers of highest quality Romans ....

CertifiedGoldCoins

<< <i>finally got my very small collection uploaded >>

Size isn't everything, very nice coins there, especially the denarii of the Republic; I know how hard those are to obtain.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>My first Claudius (and Agrippina Jr), cistophorous, Ephesus mint >>

I agree- that one is awesome.