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Agrippa I
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Agrippa I. 37-44 AD. AE 23, 11.45g. Caesarea Paneas Mint, Year 5, 40/1 AD.
O: [ΓΑΙΩ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΙ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΩ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΩ] (For Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus), Laureate head of Caligula left.
R: [ΝΟΜΙΣΜΑ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑ] (coin of King Agrippa). LE (Year 5=40/41) in exergue; Germanicus stands in triumphal quadriga in honor of his recovery of the standards lost by Varus, car decorated with Nike standing right.
- Hendin 1240. TJC 230-1,116. AJC II 2. RPC 4976.
One of the rarest coin types of Agrippa I (26 listed?).
The grandson of Herod I, Agrippa I, so-named in honor of the victor of Actium, spent much of his youth in the Roman imperial court. Popular with the imperial family, including the emperor Tiberius, Agrippa passed much of his time in the home of Antonia Minor, the mother of Germanicus and the future emperor Claudius.
There, the boys became great friends, and as an older man, Agrippa became attached to the future emperor Gaius, being appointed governor of the territories of Batanaea and Trachonitis upon Gaius’ accession. Unfortunately contemporary politics placed a significant strain on the relationship between the king and Rome.
In AD 39 Agrippa’s uncle, Antipas, was accused of plotting with the Parthians and was exiled. Agrippa’s loyalty gained him his uncle’s forfeited territories. In AD 40 renewed riots between Greeks and Jews broke out in Alexandria, and Gaius, clearly unhappy with his Jewish subjects, provocatively ordered the installation of a statue of himself within the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem.
Agrippa, who had been unsuccessfully involved in trying to quell similar riots in Alexandria before, sought to emphasize his loyalty to local Roman officials by striking coinage which commemorated his long-standing friendship with Gaius and, especially, Germanicus.
Based on the dupondii struck in honor of the emperor’s father Germanicus, this coin includes the great general riding in his triumphal car in honor of his recovery of the standards lost by Varus, rather than portraying Agrippa himself, an identification emphasized by the specific inclusion of the word NOMISMA (Coin) in the legend.
By avoiding self promotion, Agrippa hoped to successfully navigate the treacherous waters which might result in his own removal from power.
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