Claudius                  41 - 54 A.D.

After the murder of Caligula, the Praetorian Guard had to come up with a worthy successor and fast lest the Senate step in and revert back to the pre-Julius Caesar type of Republic. The only relative of Caligula they could find was Claudius who was Caligula's uncle. An otherwise unfit man to rule, Claudius was a recluse of whom little was known about by design. Because he suffered physical deformities he was kept out of the limelight to avoid embarrassment. At the age of 46 he was unveiled to the public by his uncle Caligula and he held a position as Suffect Consul or "replacement" consul. But don't get the wrong idea, this was done by Caligula entirely to spite the Senate and had nothing to do with any affection he had for Claudius himself.

Nevertheless, by bringing him out in public Claudius gained a degree of acceptance. To augment this perception it was noted that he was highly educated and not inept as an administrator. In the turn of events that was to happen next this all played out in his favor. When the Praetorian Guard thus announced his candidacy to the seat of power the Senate had to oblige and ratify the decision.

As a ruler, the only truly poor decision he made was to marry his niece. She turned out to be nothing but trouble for him and pursued an agenda of grooming her son as Claudius's replacement. She was skillful in this endeavor and easily manipulated Claudius himself to carry out her goals. When Nero's place as rightful heir was a sure thing she simply poisoned him and Nero took his place.

AE Dupondius 41--50 A.D. Rome 26 mm. Obv. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP: Emperor's bare head left Rev. CERES AVGVSTA S C: Ceres enthroned left, holding grain ears and a long torch; an effort to reassure the Romans of a stable and adequate supply of grain from North Africa RIC 94, Van Meter 14	AE As 41--54 A.D. Rome 50--54 A.D. 11.92 g., 29 mm. Obv. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP PP: Bare head left Rev. S C: Minerva standing right, brandishing spear and holding a shield RIC 100, BMCRE 206, Van Meter 17a	AE Dupondius 41--54 A.D. 27 mm. ca. 41--50 A.D. Obv. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP: Bare head left Rev. CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI S C: Constantia staning half-left, wearing helmet and holding spear RIC 95, Van Meter 15	AE Quadrans 41--54 A.D. 16 mm. Obv. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG: Modius Rev. PON M TR P IMP CO DES IT: Legend around large S C in field; probably refers to an ongoing grain supply RIC 84, Van Meter 19
AR Quadrans 41--54 A.D. 15 mm. Obv. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG: Hand holding balance scale with the letters P N R in the field, referring to the coinage reform "pondus nummorum restitutum"--weight of the coinage restored Rev. PON M TR P IMP DES IT: Legend around large S C in field RIC 85, Van Meter 20