Claudius, Tarraco mint, 41-42 AD.,
Æ As (26-28 mm / 11,64 g),
Obv.: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP , bare head of Claudius left, open "R".
Rev.: S - C (across field), Minerva advancing right, brandishing spear in right hand, holding round shield in left.
RIC I 128, 100 ; Von Kaenel, Claudius 126, type 60 ; BMC 185, 149 ; CBN 99, 179 ; C. - .
Claudius was the first emperor not to get the authority to be emperor of Rome in an official ceremony from the Senate. He was proclaimed princeps by the Praetorians. This is probably the reason why all the preserved historical works which were written by Senators, tried to present Claudius as an incompetent ruler who obtained the highest authority only by a simple coincidence. The facts are rather to be found with Flavius Josephus who was a more neutral observer. He tells us that, immediately following the assassination of Caligula, there was an assembly in the camp of the Praetorians. The Guard decided to raise Claudius to the throne; they did not want a government run by the rather parsimonious Senate and they had no intention to leave the power of decisions to others. They expected to be generously rewarded by the new emperor for their support; and finally, they were of the opinion that no Roman Senator could be equal with Claudius, brother of Germanicus, regarding descendance and upbringing. Claudius therefore rose to the throne primarily because of his family background. It was therefore very important at the beginning of the reign, characterized by some instability, to show to the Romans the ties of Claudius with the popular members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Claudius himself, barely known to the Roman citizens, hid behind his parents and his brother. See H. Jung, Die Thronerhebung des Claudius, CHIRON 2 (1972), 367-386 and W. Trillmich, Familienpropaganda der Kaiser Caligula und Claudius - Agrippina maior und Antonia Augusta auf Münzen, AMUGS VIII (1978).
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