Modern Forgery, As of Germanicus

Germanicus (under Caligula), As, copper alloy, AD 37–41, 9.43 g, 28 mm. Rome mint. Modern forgery imitating the commemorative As issues of Caligula honoring Germanicus. Obverse: Bare head of Germanicus left; legend GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N. Reverse: Large S C in field with the surrounding legend of Caligula (prototype legends read C CAESAR DIVI AVG PRON AVG P M TR P IIII P P, varieties known). Prototype references: cf. RIC I (Gaius) 57–58 (As, Rome).

Germanicus Julius Caesar (15 BC–AD 19) was a celebrated general, adopted son of Tiberius and father of Caligula. Caligula’s bronze coinage at Rome honoring Germanicus invoked his father’s reputation and the Julian-Augustan lineage; the obverse names Germanicus, while the reverse bears Caligula’s titles with S C indicating senatorial authority over bronze. The genuine prototypes belong to Caligula’s dynastic program of AD 37–41 and were widely circulated, leading to frequent modern imitations.