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Aureus - Claudius IMPER RECEPT
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 41-42 |
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| Reference(s) | RIC I#7, OCRE#ric.1(2).cl.7 |
| Obverse description | Bare head of Emperor Claudius facing right, portrayed with naturalistic detail characteristic of early Julio-Claudian portraiture, the hair rendered in short, informal locks across the brow. The circular legend reads TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P, arranged around the periphery of the flan. The portrait is rendered in high relief against a plain field, consistent with the hammered gold coinage struck at the Rome mint in the early years of Claudius's reign. |
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| Mintage | ND (41-42) |
| Additional information |
Claudius had no military career, no political mandate, and no prior claim to power when the Praetorian Guard pulled him from behind a curtain in the imperial palace hours after Caligula's assassination in January 41 AD. The Guard acclaimed him emperor on the spot — the first time in Roman history that soldiers, not the Senate, determined succession. This aureus, with its IMPER RECEPT legend ("received the imperium"), was struck almost immediately to commemorate that moment, functioning as a direct acknowledgment that his power derived from the Guard rather than traditional constitutional authority.
RIC I#7 is among the earliest issues of his reign, datable to 41–42 before his titulature was fully standardized.