Claudius was the step-grandson of Augustus, and uncle of Caligula, his predecessor. Claudius was dismissed by much of his family due to physical disabilities -- he was frequently ill in his youth, deaf in one ear, struggled to walk, and had a speech impairment. Now most scholars conclude that Claudius most likely had cerebral palsy, but at the time, he was derided by relatives and kept out of the public eye. Suetonius writes that his mother used to refer to him as “a half-formed monster.” (Claudius, 3.2) He petitioned several times to begin the cursus honorum and move through public offices, but he was denied. A painful contrast emerges with Claudius’ brother, Germanicus, who was a legendary and adored general with many titles. After decades of ill treatment, Claudius resigned himself to the inner palace and surrounded himself with books, imperial freedmen, and women. He came to power by accident, for while other members of his family were killed in the flurry of events surrounding the murder of the emperor Caligula, he had been associated with the family only in a distant, almost nominal way. He reluctantly accepted the declaration of emperor by the Praetorians. He struggled with relating to the senate, however, due to his alienation from traditional public life, which strained aspects of his rule. However, his unpretentious ways -- he loved gaming and races -- and generosity towards the populace bestowed favor upon him from the lower classes. Despite these mixed reviews, during his reign he successfully expanded the empire, and an invasion of Britain under his direction resulted in its annexation – a huge feat that Julius Caesar had last attempted, but Claudius exceeded. This denarius commemorates the conquest, with the reverse featuring a view of the Praetorian camp, with a soldier on guard. Britannia would remain a Roman province until the fifth century. KHK.