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The data below is presented by permission of the copyright holder(s). Reproduction is allowed only by authorization from Roma Numismatics Ltd.
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XVI | Auction date: 26 September 2018 |
| Lot number: 435 | |
| Lot description: Herodians, Agrippa I, with Herod of Chalcis and Claudius Æ25. Caesarea Maritima, dated RY 8 of Agrippa I = 43 CE. [BAΣ] AΓPIΠΠAΣ ΣEB KAIΣAP BAΣ HPΩΔHΣ (King Agrippa, Augustus Caesar, King Herod), Claudius, togate and standing left, sacrificing from patera, between Agrippa I and Herod of Chalcis, each crowning the emperor with a wreath; [L H (date) in exergue] / [OPKIA BAΣ ME AΓPIΠΠA Π ΣEΒ KAIΣAP AK ΣYNKΛHTON K ΔHMO PΩM ΦIΛI K ΣYNMAXI AYTOY (A vow and treaty of friendship and alliance between the Great King Agrippa and Augustus Caesar, the Senate and the People of Rome) in two concentric circles divided by wreath; clasped right hands in centre; Burnett, Coinage 8; Hendin 1248; Meshorer 124a; RPC I 4982. 16.83g, 26mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare; of great historical importance and certainly the finest surviving example of the type. From the inventory of a North American dealer. This extremely rare coin commemorates the treaty wherein Claudius awarded the kingdoms of Judaea and Samaria to Agrippa, and Chalcis to Agrippa's brother Herod. The reverse legend is an excerpt of the treaty and appropriately encircles two clasped hands signifying the agreement, a long-established Roman numismatic motif dating back to the first century BC (see Crawford 450/2). That the agreement was rather favourable to Agrippa perhaps reflects his importance as a political force in the promotion of Claudius' succession (for an account of Agrippa's role, see Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, 19.236-45). The obverse depicts three full-length portraits of the two client kings crowning the emperor Claudius with laurel wreaths, all of whom are identified by the obverse legend. Whilst it is tempting to imagine, there is no historical record of such a ceremony taking place during the treaty making in Rome in AD 41. Despite this, the crowning scene is highly intriguing in its novelty - there is no parallel in Roman coinage of an emperor being crowned by two client kings. The iconography has been discussed at length by Andreas Kropp, who rightly highlights that Roman artists would never have depicted such a scene implying the source of the emperor's power came from the hands of mere mortals, let alone a client king. As such, this coin appears to have been designed by artists at the Caesarea mint not for the glorification of the emperor but for emphasising Agrippa's own power as a kingmaker, rather than a mere vassal, and without fear of Roman authority (see Crowning the Emperor an unorthodox image of Claudius, Agrippa I and Herod of Chalkis, 2013). Estimate: 10000 GBP |  |
