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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |The Twelve Caesars| ▸ |Caius & Lucius||View Options:   | | | Caius Caesar, born in 20 B.C. and Lucius Caesar, born in 17 B.C., were the sons of Agrippa and Julia, and the grandsons of Augustus. Augustus adopted them and designated them as his successors. As boy's, they were declared consul elect, princeps juventutis, honored with priesthoods, and admitted to the senate. In 1 A.D. Caius was consul and was sent to Armenia, where he showed talent for both civil government and military enterprise. In 2 A.D., rather than invade, Gaius met with King Phraates V and concluded peace with the Parthians, who recognized Roman claims to Armenia. The brothers seemed destined for greatness. But Lucius, the younger of the two, died suddenly at Marseilles on 20 August 2 A.D. And, on his return from Armenia, Caius was treacherously wounded by a local Roman magistrate, fell into a lingering illness, and on 21 February 4 A.D., at the early age of 24, died at Limyra in Lycia. Augustus' wife, their step-mother, Livia, was rumored to have arranged both of their deaths to advance her son Tiberius, who was later adopted as Augustus' son and heir. |
This type has traditionally been attributed to Pergamum, c. 27 - 20 B.C. More recently, it has been suggested that it was struck at Samos, c. 21 - 20 B.C., when the city was Augustus' headquarters during his visit to the East. That all being said, David Sear has voiced skepticism to an Eastern origin in SRCV I (2000) where he writes, "the usual attribution of this issue to an 'eastern' mint is not supported either by the style of the engraving or by the evidence of provenance." In BMCRE I (1923), Harold Mattingly notes that specimens of the aureii of the same exact type (RIC I2 539) have been found at Ambenay (in France) and Xanten (in Germany).
The identity of the imperial portrait has been a matter of debate for many generations, a scholarly tug of war between an idealized depiction of Augustus and his adopted grandson, Gaius Caesar. While many nowadays prefer the former identification (note, for instance, the oak wreath), David Sear favors Gaius in SRCV I, seeing in the coin designs the "well established" connection to the Ludi Saeculares celebrations of 17 B.C., during which "year saw the birth of Gaius' younger brother, Lucius, and the adoption of both by Augustus." In 2012, a Canadian auction house sold a fascinating specimen overstruck on an earlier denarius bearing remnants of a "T R POT" legend and the suggestion of a head on the overtype's obverse. The cataloger(s) tentatively suggested the host coin was a Licinius Stolo denarius from the Rome mint (RIC I2 343), another coin with ties to the Ludi Saeculares in 17 B.C. However, in the present cataloger's view, traces of the undertype's thick edge beading may suggest a different denarius issue.
Lastly, the old description of the candelabrum being "surmounted by a crescent," noted as early as 1910 (in BMCRR II) and which is still widely cited today, was likely an incorrect interpretation of a partially visible patera.RS114560. Silver denarius, RIC I2 540, BMCRE I 684-685, BnF I3 1013-1016, RSC I 2 (Caius Caesar), SRCV I 1749 (same, $1,440 VF), Cohen I 2 (same, 30 Fr.), aVF, retoned, light scratches, banker's marks on obv., slightly off-centered, weight 3.448 g, maximum diameter 18.8 mm, die axis 180o, possibly eastern (Pergamum or Samos?) mint, c. 17 B.C.; obverse bare head of youthful Augustus(?) right, CA-ES-AR counterclockwise below, all within an oak wreath; reverse candelabrum, ornamented with rams' heads, all within a floral wreath entwined with two bucrania and three paterae, AVG-VST• across field; ex CNG e-auction 540 (15 Jun 2023), lot 397; ex Kalevala Collection; ex Baldwin's auction 48, (24 Sep 2020), lot 594; ex T. Hardaker Collection; ex CNG e-auction 277 (11 Apr 2012), lot 210; $500.00 (€470.00)
Gaius Caesar, Antiochia ad Maeandrum, Caria, 1 B.C. - 4 A.D.
The bare-headed young portrait is Gaius Julius Caesar, not Augustus. In this period, Augustus would be expected to wear a wreath, as he does on the other coins from this city. The youthful image better fits the younger man, who was both his grandson and adoptive son. Many cities issued coins for Gaius after he was made army commander in the East in 1 B.C. The winged caduceus commemorates the peace treaty he made that year with Phraates V. Attribution to Antioch on the Meander is likely but not entirely certain.SH77422. Bronze AE 15, RPC I Supp. S-5478 (corr., 1 spec., head of Augustus, caduceus on a prow); Solidus Numismatik, auction 6, lot 209, VF, over-cleaned, porous, flan crack, weight 2.129 g, maximum diameter 14.9 mm, Antiochia ad Maeandrum (near Basaran Turkey) mint, 1 B.C. - 21 Feb 4 A.D.; obverse ANTIOXEΩN, bare head (Gaius Caesar?) right with slender neck and curved bust line; reverse winged caduceus in laurel wreath; extremely rare, only the 3rd known; SOLD
Caius and Lucius Caesars, Struck Under Augustus, 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D., Tarraco, Hispania Tarraconensis
The brothers Caius and Lucius were the sons of Agrippa and Julia, daughter of Augustus. They were due to succeed Augustus but predeceased him in 4 and 2 A.D. respectively.RP40015. Bronze semis, RPC I 212, SNG Cop 523, VF, weight 5.455 g, maximum diameter 20.4 mm, die axis 225o, Tarraco mint, 2 B.C.; obverse CAESARES GEMINI, Gaius and Lucius standing facing; reverse C V T TARR, Bull standing right; rare; SOLD
Caius and Lucius Caesars, c. 1 B.C., Pergamum, Mysia
The brothers, Caius and Lucius, were the sons of Agrippa and Julia, daughter of Augustus. They were due to succeed Augustus but predeceased him in 4 and 2 A.D. respectively.SH62522. Bronze AE 18, RPC I 2363, SNG BnF 2036, BMC Mysia 247, SNG Cop -, VF, weight 4.224 g, maximum diameter 18.4 mm, die axis 0o, Pergamon (Bergama, Turkey) mint, reign of Augustus, c. 1 B.C.; obverse ΓA-ION, KEΦANTΛIΩN below, bare head of Gaius Caesar right; reverse ΛEY-KION, bare head of Lucius Caesar right; SOLD
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