★ Ex Sir Arthur Evans Collection, 1926 ★

Drusus Julius Caesar (son of Tiberius) Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 22-23. Confronted heads of Drusus' twin sons Tiberius Gemellus and Germanicus on crossed cornucopiae with winged caduceus between / DRVSVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N PONT TR POT II, around large S•C. RIC I 42 (Tiberius); BMCRE 95 (Tiberius). 27.27g, 35mm, 12h.

Very Fine; scratches to reverse, attractive 'Tiber' tone.

Ex Salton Collection (Part IV), Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Auction 377, 20 October 2022, lot 5700;
Ex Sir Arthur Evans Collection, Ars Classica and Naville & Co., Auction XII, 18-23 October 1926, lot 2747;
Ex J. Faure Collection, Étienne Bourgey, 10-11 December 1923, lot 69.

This sestertius was struck in the wake of the death of Tiberius' heir designate, Germanicus. With no heir apparent, Tiberius nonetheless promoted the concept of a 'Tiberian' dynasty on his coinage of AD 22/3, as clearly embodied in the present type, through his son Drusus and twin grandsons Tiberius Gemellus and Germanicus Gemellus, whose portraits adorn the cornucopiae here. Tragically however, Drusus and Germanicus Gemellus were both to die in AD 23, and Tiberius Gemellus would eventually be executed by Caligula as a potential threat to his position.