This denarius features the young emperor Gaius on the obverse, and his mother, Agrippina the Elder, on the reverse. His father, Germanicus, remains one of them most famous and beloved generals in Rome’s history, while his mother was the granddaughter of Augustus. The family often accompanied Germanicus on campaign, and as a result Gaius earned the nickname Caligula (“Little Boot”) based on the tiny soldier’s boots he wore around the camps as child. His father died under suspicious circumstances, and his mother and brothers were banished under the pressure of the emperor Tiberius (to whom Caligula was grandnephew). The justifications for this act seem suspicious, at best. Caligula, however, was brought to Capri while still young, where Tiberius and an eclectic gaggle of royal hostages and astrologers lived. This would result in Caligula’s alienation from the senatorial class during his own rule, for he had no experience in dealing with them. After the death of Tiberius, Caligula conveniently had the Praetorian Guard dismiss Tiberius’ grandson (who had been named co-heir with Caligula), and the senate bestowed imperial power on him alone. He immediately set to restoring his family’s memory, particularly his mother’s, for she is believed to have been so mistreated during her exile that she lost an eye by flogging, and eventually starved to death. He returned their ashes to Rome in a very public parade, burned documents pertaining to their so-called treason trials, and even minted coins, like this one, to reintroduce them to public memory. Agrippina the Elder was well regarded by surviving sources of the time, and was apparently held by the people as highly principled paragon of Roman virtue. However, after a fever in 39 CE, Caligula would never be the same, and his legacy continues to be a notorious one. KHK.