Drusus upgrade/ Drusus wasn't useless/ Flavian restoration issue

[Ryro]

Whomever made me pay that bit extra, you owe me a beer. 

That said, Drusus can be tricky to acquire. He was just one more early death for the Ceasars. And a sad story. 

 (died via poison. Do whatever you have to kill me but leave my bowels alone!!!)

The old coin was given to me by my pops. And has served me well for half a decade or so:

DRUSUS CAESAR son of Tiberius. Caesar, 19-23 CE. Æ As (28mm, 7.33 g). Rome mint. Issued under Tiberius, 22-23 CE. Bare head of Drusus left / Legend around large SC. RIC I 45 (Tiberius);

The new one was listed as Augustus! If you look at the reverse you'll see that this coin is a restoration issue under Titus in honor of Drusus:

DRUSUS

(Died AD 23). As. Rome. Restoration issue struck under Titus (AD 80).

Obv: DRVSVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N.

Bare head left.

Rev: IMP T CAES DIVI VESP F AVG REST.

S C; legend around.

RIC² 437.

Condition: Very fine.

Weight: 7.90 g.

Diameter: 25 mm.

Purchased from Zeus Oct 2022

 

I'd love to see any and all types of Drusus that we have. I'll even take Nero Claudius Drusus if you're in a pinch! Any coin upgrades, and it any thought that's jingling around in your head😜

 

[DonnaML]

My Drusus Minor, struck under his father in the same year that he died:

Drusus Minor or the Younger, full name Drusus Julius Caesar (13 BCE-23 AD, son of Tiberius and Vipsiana), AE As, 23 AD, Rome Mint, issued by Tiberius. Obv. Bare head left, DRVSVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N / Rev. PONTIF TRIBVN POTEST ITER around large SC. RIC I Tiberius 45, Sear RCV I 1794 (ill. p. 353), BMCRE Tiberius 99, Cohen 2. 28 mm., 10.4 g.

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by DonnaML

[ambr0zie]

Tough one to acquire. I have two coins, both pretty tough to admire, even if I am very indulgent and I have nothing against worn coins.

This one came in a lot and I assume it's https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1(2).tib.45

This Pergamum is a  little better in hand but still needs something nicer, perhaps sometime I will also perform an upgrade.

[Marsyas Mike]

Nice upgrade, @Ryro.   I have but one Titus "restitution issue" and it could use a bit of an upgrade too.  Not Drusus, but Germanicus, keeping it all in the family (with an attribution note via the late Jamesicus):

Titus  Æ As Germanicus Restoration Issue (80-81 A.D.) Rome Mint  GER[MANICVS CAESAR TI AV]G F DIVI AVG N, head of Germanicus, bare, left / IMP T CAES [DIVI VESP F] AVG REST · around large S-C. RIC 442 (RIC [1962] 228) (Titus) (8.25 grams / 23 mm) eBay May 2020  Notes: "The 'restored' series of Titus served a double purpose; it preserved  the memory of famous coins of the early Empire which were becoming obsolete and it emphasized in the public mind the continuity between the Flavian dynasty and its predecessor." (Harold Mattingly via Coin Talk, Jamesicus)

For those unused to reading low grade stuff, a visual enhancement via my shaky hand and "paint":  

 

[LONGINUS]

Very interesting post, @Ryro and congratulations on your acquisitions.

I have no Drusus currency 😞 but I do have some Senatus Consulto reverse coins 😁

 

[ambr0zie]

When I had my first Antioch coin (I like these provincials a lot, thanks to the skilled engravers and the accurate portraits) I was a little intrigued about the SC legend.

I wonder if a citizen in Rome would have accepted an Antioch coin basing on the legend. But I am sure you know the meaning of SC on Antioch coins.

[kevikens]

I think we all find these commemorative issues to be interesting. It's worth thinking of the motives for those emperors who did issue them.  The As of Agrippa I have here was issued by Caligula. Was it designed to link him to some aspect of the reign of Augustus? Did the two share some kind of connection Caligula wanted to be associated with?  The two coins, one a silver drachma of the Caesarea mint showing Drusus, and the other, the commemorative As of Drusus under discussion may have been issued by Tiberius in sorrow for his loss. The As of Germanicus was also issued by Caligula and here it is obvious he wants to honor and associate himself with his father. Any other speculation on why these commemorative coins were minted? Here below are the obverses of the four coins I mentioned. The one on the upper left is the As of Drusus from the OP. Sear 1794. The coin on the upper right is the Agrippa As issued by Caligula with Neptune on its reverse. it is Sear 1812. On the lower left is a scarcer piece of Drusus , a silver drachma of Caesarea  (Cappadichia) with Tiberius on the reverse side, issued about 33/34. It is Seaby's Roman silver coins, number 3, p.2 no legend example. At 3.41 grams and with Tiberius on the other side I have seen this coin as a possible candidate for the Biblical tribute penny, especially as it was issued from an eastern mint. The fourth coin, another commemorative  As was issued by Caligula ca. 38AD  and it may have been issued by Caligula as an example of filial piety.

[Julius Germanicus]

DRVSVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N, bare head of Drusus left / PONTIF TRIBVN POTEST ITER around large S C

Copper As, struck under Tiberius, AD 22-23           

RIC (Tiberius) 45 ; BMCRE (Tiberius) 99; CBN (Tiberius) 78; MIR 2, Series 38/6; Cohen 2; Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values I) 1794 .

29.80 mm   /  11.32 g  / "a most attractive VF" (David Sear)

Historical & Numismatic Note by Sear: "The two principal heirs to the imperial throne during the reign of Tiberius (AD 14-37) were his nephew Germanicus (born 15 BC), the elder son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia, and Drusus the younger (born 13 BC), his own son by his first wife Vipsania. Germanicus was adopted by his uncle in AD 4 and became heir to the throne a decade later when Tiberius succeeded Augustus. However, the popular young prince was destined to enjoy his new rank for only five years. In AD 19, at the Syrian capital of Antioch-on-the-Orontes, Germanicus Caesar died suddenly under mysterious circumstances at the age of only thirty-four. As a result, Tiberius' own son Drusus now became heir to the throne, and sestertii and asses were struck in his honor during Tiberius' twenty-fourth tribunician year (AD 22-23), an unusually prolific period for the production of aes coinage at Rome. However, in AD 23 Drusus also died prematurely at the age of only thirty-six. It seems likely that he was the victim of the ruthlessly ambitious praetorian prefect Sejanus who had seduced his wife Livilla, sister of the late Caesar Germanicus, and had persuaded her to administer poison to her unfortunate husband. This example of the copper as (worth one-fourth of the orichalcum sestertius and one-sixteenth of the silver denarius) issued for Drusus Caesar has a fine portrait of the ill-fated 35-year-old prince. The obverse inscription describes him as “son of the Emperor Tiberius and grandson of the Divine Augustus”, the same pedigree which had been borne by his predecessor as heir, Germanicus. The reverse inscription records that Drusus was in the second year of his tribunician power (TRIBVN POTEST ITER) showing that he had been granted this distinction by Tiberius as part of his preparation for the succession to the imperial throne. The large S C, which is encircled by the inscription, stands for Senatus Consulto (“by the authority of the Senate”) and its prominence is indicative of the importance placed by the Senate on its constitutional prerogative to issue coinage. Under the Empire, this right was generally restricted to the aes denominations. " 

[Ryro]

Great coins all! Thanks for all the beautiful examples, thoughts and education:)

Speaking of the beautiful yet adulteress and murderous Livilla @Julius Germanicus here she is, ironically, as Pietas:

Drusus Caesar. AD 19-23. Æ Dupondius (27.40mm, 13.18 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Tiberius, AD 22-23. PIETAS, veiled, diademed, and draped bust of Livilla as Pietas (for years thought to be and listed as Livia) right / DRVSVS CAESAR TI · AVGVSTI F · TR POT ITER, large S · C. RIC I 43 (Tiberius); BMCRE 98 (Tiberius); BN 74. VG, Ex Marc Breitsprecher  

"Claudia Julia Livia, nicknamed Livilla ("Little Livia"), was the daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, and sister to Germanicus and the future emperor Claudius. Though Roman historians describe her as remarkably beautiful and charming, they also condemn her as a power-hungry adulteress and murderess. Tacitus accuses her of conspiring with her lover, the Praetorian Prefect Sejanus, to poison her husband, the imperial heir Drusus Caesar, who died in AD 23. This coin, struck in the name of Drusus shortly before his death, depicts on the obverse a veiled and classically beautiful woman as Pietas, goddess of religious piety and dutifulness. David Vagi has argued convincingly that the head represents Livilla, given that the other bronze coins issued the same year depict Drusus himself and the couple's twin sons, forming a "family set."

She was a cutie!

 

[Qcumbor]

Drusus has been on my list for decades now. I have yet to find the right one at the right price. 

Great thread.

And @Julius Germanicus fabulous Drusus 

Q

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

They're all better than mine; I don't have any Drusus.  I've been meaning to get a decent one..

How much does a Cappadocian drachm go for, in the condition of Kevikens'? 

[kevikens]

About $300. It circulated for some time before being lost or buried