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A holed and countermarked brass dupondius of Antonia with the emperor Claudius on the reverse Coin Type: Brass dupondius of Antonia.
Mint and Date: Rome, 41-42 CE.
Size and Weight: 28mm x 29mm, 11.22g
Obverse: (AN)TONIA AVG(VSTA)
Draped, bare-headed bust right.
Countermark: NCAPR in rectangular incuse.
Reverse: TI CLAVD(IVS CAESAR AV)G PM TR P IMP S C
Claudius, veiled and togate, standing left, holding simpulum.
Provenance: georgebromis (eBay), October 2009.
Ref: RCV (2000) 1902, RIC I 92
BW Ref: 004 044 149
Click on the picture for a larger scale view of the coin

Note: The NCAPR countermark is usually explained as "Nero Caesar Augustus Probavit" or "Nero Caesar Augustus Populo Romano". Different subtypes of this relatively common countermark are attributed by some authors to originate in either Italy, Spain or Gaul.

Another possibility would be to read NCAPR as "Nerva Caesar Augustus Probavit". This hypothesis is supported by a Vespasian dupondius with the "NCAPR" countermark, making an attribution to Nero very unlikely.

(Credit to the Roman Numismatic Gallery website for this information.)

The content of this page was last updated on 18 November 2009