Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Emperor Claudius II Gothicus

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

268-269

Roman; minted in Alexandria, Egypt

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the bust of emperor Claudius II Gothicus. The back (reverse) depicts a bust of the god Hermanubis facing right, wearing a modius (headdress), with a winged caduceus, palm atop. The date this coin was struck is indicated in the reverse inscription ” LB”, which means the second year of Claudius’s reign, or 268-269 CE. Claudius II Gothicus reigned from 268-270.
One interesting feature of this particular coin is that the back side appears to have been struck more than once, a manufacturing error that is also referred to as a double exposure. This occurs when the coin has duplicate images from being struck again, off center.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Artist: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Emperor Claudius II Gothicus
Place: Egypt (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 268 CE–269 CE
Medium: Billon
Inscriptions: Obverse: AVT K KΛAYΔIOC CEB Reverse: LB
Dimensions: Diam.: 2.1 cm (7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert L. Grover
Reference Number: 1978.744
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/133564/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report: 1978-79 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1979), p. 35.

Robert L. Grover (1910-1998), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1978.

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Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Emperor Claudius II Gothicus

Currently Off View

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.