CALIGULA SILVER DENARIUS – DIVUS AUGUSTUS ISSUE – VF STAR NGC GRADED ROMAN IMPERIAL COIN OF THE 12 CAESARS (Inv. 20808)

$17,500.00

20808. ROMAN EMPIRE. CALIGULA, AD 37-41.
Silver Denarius, 3.72 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, late AD 37-early 38.
Obv. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, laureate head of Caligula right. Rev. DIVVS AVG PATER PATRIAE, radiate head of Divus Augustus right.
RIC I rev 16; BMCRE 4-5; BN 3-8.
Ex Kunker 347, 3/22/2021, lot 381, noting that it was acquired from Günther Schlüter, July 1995, and was accompanied by a notation that it was earlier acquired from Wruck in July 1960.
NGC graded VF STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, old cabinet patina, exceptional portraits and centering of the coin.

The prominent depiction of the deified Augustus on this denarius advertises Caligula’s attempts to present himself as a proper heir of the first emperor, his great-grandfather, following the debacle of Tiberius’ reign. He publicly burned Tiberius’ papers to signal an end to the terror of the treason trials, brought back the remains of his exiled mother and brothers for internment in their proper place in the Mausoleum of Augustus, and was widely described as a beloved ruler who seemed poised to usher in a new golden age. Unfortunately, in the same period that this coin was struck, Caligula fell seriously ill. When he recovered, something had changed. The emperor now embarked on a campaign of violence and outrage against the important classes of Roman society – the senate, the equestrian order, and the army – as he slipped into madness. He seriously considered granting senatorial status to his favorite horse, prepared his legions for an invasion of Britannia, only to have them gather seashells on the European shore of the English Channel, and began to consider himself a living god – a step above Augustus, who was only recognized officially as a god in Rome after his death. Finally, the emperor’s insanity became more than the Roman state could bear, and Caligula was murdered along with his wife and daughter in AD 41. With the sword blows of the Praetorian Guard, Caligula was sent to eternity, and the Julian branch of the Julio-Claudian dynasty was snuffed out on earth.