Kotys I ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client of Rome, and this stater was struck at a politically loaded moment: Claudius had recently secured his grip on the throne following Caligula's assassination, and Britannicus — Claudius's son and designated heir — was being actively promoted as dynastic successor. The joint naming on this issue reflects the Bosporan court's careful alignment with Roman imperial succession politics, not merely a courtesy gesture.
Britannicus never became emperor. Nero had him poisoned in 55 AD, likely at dinner, four years after Claudius's own death.
Kotys I ruled the Bosporan Kingdom as a client of Rome, and this stater was struck at a politically loaded moment: Claudius had recently secured his grip on the throne following Caligula's assassination, and Britannicus — Claudius's son and designated heir — was being actively promoted as dynastic successor. The joint naming on this issue reflects the Bosporan court's careful alignment with Roman imperial succession politics, not merely a courtesy gesture.
Britannicus never became emperor. Nero had him poisoned in 55 AD, likely at dinner, four years after Claudius's own death.