Nero & Drusus Caesar, died 31 and 33, respectively. Dupondius (Orichalcum, 30 mm, 15.28 g, 6 h), Rome, struck under Gaius (Caligula), 37-38. NERO ET DRVSVS CAESARES Nero and Drusus riding on horseback to right, their cloaks flying behind them.
Rev. C•CAESAR•AVG•GERMANICVS•PON•M•TR•POT• around large S•C. BMC 44. CBN 53. Cohen 1. RIC 34. An excellent piece with a lovely light green patina and exceptional details. Some areas of smoothing and with a filled corrosion spot on the reverse
, otherwise, extremely fine.
From the Aes Augustorum Collection, formed since the late 1990s.
Drusus and Nero were the eldest sons of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, and therefore ultimately descended from Mark Antony, Agrippa, and Augustus himself. Such a sterling pedigree held great promise for the young men, but they became embroiled in the bitter power struggle between their mother and Tiberius' powerful praetorian prefect, Seianus. The latter gained the upper hand in the conflict, and managed to have Agrippina and Nero imprisoned in 29 AD, with Drusus following a year later. All three of them died in exile, and would later be commemorated on the coins of Gaius Caligula, their youngest son and brother, respectively.
