63, Lot: 44. Estimate $300. Sold for $185. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

IONIA, Smyrna. Britannicus. Died 55 AD. Æ 17mm (3.74 gm). Bare head of Britannicus right / Nike flying right, holding trophy over her left shoulder. RPC I 2476; Klose 46 (O15/R41); Lindgren-Kovacs 562. Fine, brown patina, some pitting.

RPC disputes the identification of Klose that this obverse is Britannicus, and identifies it instead as Nero. Comparable examples of early Nero reveal a noteworthy dissimilarity between the two portraits; without an inscription, though, either is possible. Britannicus, the son of Claudius and Messalina was born in 41 or 42 AD. Originally named Germanicus, he was renamed Britannicus in honor of his father's successful British invasion of 43. In 55, while dining with friends, he was poisoned and died. The murder was almost certainly ordered by Agrippina Junior, who wanted to clear the way for her son's succession to the throne.