GAIUS (CALIGULA). 37-41 AD. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 28.85 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck 37-38 AD. C CAESAR. AVG. GERMANICVS. PON. M TR POT., Laureate head left / Gaius' three sisters standing facing: Agrippina (as Securitas) leaning on column, holding cornucopiae; Drusilla (as Concordia), holding patera and cornucopiae; Julia (as Fortuna) holding rudder and cornucopiae. RIC I 33; BMCRE 37; BN 49; Cohen 4. EF, mottled dark green and brick-red patina. An exceptional coin.
On this popular and beautiful reverse, the three sisters of Gaius (Caligula) are honored and portrayed as having somewhat divine attributes. Drusilla died in 38 AD at the age of 22. In his madness, Caligula's incestuous lust for his remaining sisters turned to violent hatred, and he ultimately banished them to the Pontian Islands.
