Lot 2264

Description

Caligula, (Gaius), (A.D. 37-41), AE sestertius, issued A.D. 37-8, Rome mint, (26.67 grams), obv. Gaius head laureate to left, around C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, rev. on three sides AGRIPPINA, DRVSILLA, IVLIA, Gaius' three sisters standing facing, Agrippina with cornucopiae, resting on column, others each holding cornucopiae, Druscilla with patera and Ivlia with rudder, S C in exergue, (S.613, RIC 33, BMC 37). Some minor pitting on the reverse field and around the edge, otherwise extremely fine and very rare.

After his accession Caligula decreed that it would henceforth be compulsory for the names of his three sisters to be included in all vows and oaths. druscilla, born in A.D. 17, was his favourite, and it was rumoured that their relationship was incestuous. Julia Livilla, the youngest was banished in A.D. 39 for committing adultery. The eldest, Agrippina Junior, was the mother of the future emperor Nero (born A.D. 37). she survived to marry her uncle, the emperor Claudius in A.D. 49 and to become the de facto ruler in the early part of her son's reign. Caligula was the first emperor to place his portrait head on sestertii minted in Rome.