XXIII. Obverse. (Sine epigraphe.) A triumphal quadriga, very richly decorated with sculptures and tokens of victory-but without either charioteer or rider. This was struck A. D. 34, and may be supposed to allude to the triumph decreed to Tiberius 25 years before, but which was never celebrated on account of the grievous defeat of Varus. Reverse. TI. CAESAR DIVI AVG. F. AVGVST. P. M. TR. POT. XXXIIX. (Tiberius Cæsar, Divi Augusti filius, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate trigesimumoctavum.) In the field a large S. C. This medal is in remarkably fine condition, and was presented to me by my friend Consul-general Warrington, at Tripoli, in 1816. The title of Pontifex Maximus is very familiar upon the medals of Tiberius, whereas not one of the emperors was more careless and indifferent about what related to the worship of the gods, and the ceremonies of religion, than himself. It will be recollected that the consecration to this office was performed under extraordinary pomp and circumstance; and that it constituted him who attained the dignity, sovereign, judge, and director of the public and private obligations of worship. All priests and sacrifices were under his inspection; it was he who approved of the vestal virgins, and appointed them their habits-that corrected, chastised, or condemned them to be buried alive, when they violated their vows; and to him belonged the composing of the rituals, as well as digesting the public annals, or history of the year. See No. CCCCLXXXI. Julius Cæsar, who took upon himself the office of Pontifex Maximus-which was held by his successors till the time of Gratian-well knowing the absolute dominion which he thereby acquired over men's minds, and consequently over their actions, valued the dignity very highly. Hence Ovid "Cæsar preferred to titles gain'd in war, The honours of the sacerdotal chair." This medal is curious as to its date of Tribunitian power. Some authors maintain that we are to look upon this æra as signifying the year of the Emperor's reign to which it is added: but herein they are greatly mistaken; for, though very rarely, it was sometimes bestowed upon others beside the emperor. It is allowed by all historians that the reign of Tiberius did not complete 23 years-yet here, as Obadiah Walker observed, we find him with TR. POT. XXXIIX; and we have already described four medals bearing XXIIII, and one XXXVII, which were struck by this despot. DRUSUS JUNIOR. Nero Claudius Drusus, the son of Tiberius, by Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Agrippa, was born in Rome about the year B. C. 13; he was made quaestor A. D. 12; designated consul A. D. 14; elevated to the tribunitian power A. D. 22; and was poisoned at the instance of Sejanus A. D. 23, by Livia, otherwise called Livilla, his dissolute wife. Drusus, yielding in consummate dissimulation to his father, equalled him in impure debauchery, drunkenness, and cruelty; insomuch that, from his love of blood, the sharpest swords were termed gladii Drusiani. While yet a youth he was despatched into the provinces, on military service, to withdraw him from the allurements of the city; but when his father retired to Campania, he became governor of Rome. In this situation he conducted himself with such moderation as to gain the affections of the people, and cause them to overlook the luxurious revelry in which he rioted; while the friendly habits in which he had lived with Germanicus, and his having gone to meet Agrippina with the sacred ashes of that popular chieftain, had already endeared him to the army. As Drusus was a man of towering spirit, and impatient of an equal, he was greatly irritated by the insolent bearing of Sejanus, and therefore lost no opportunity of shewing his contempt. The powerful favorite, whose ambition now soared to imperial power, repaid the affronts by first debauching Livia, and afterwards inveigling her to poison her husband. The murder was not suspected till after the fall of Sejanus, when the confession of the unhappy Apicata made Tiberius acquainted with the horrible transaction. The rage of the tyrant, on finding in what manner he had been deprived of his only immediate issue, was extreme: and, after a personal examination into all the facts, it was manifested by the vindictive rigour with which he punished the guilty wife, and all her accomplices in the villainy. Dio, however, denies that Tiberius put Livia to death; he asserts that she was delivered over to Antonia, her mother, and that worthy matron, thinking it culpable that wickedness of so black a dye should escape unpunished, left her to die by starvation. There are but few silver medals of Drusus, and, I believe none of gold: indeed, except those of middle-brass, his coins are all rare, especially such as bear Tiberius on the reverse. From the difficulty of procuring any large-brass specimen, save that struck in honour of the twins, it is usual to supply the deficiency with the restitutions by Titus, and Domitian. One of the middle-brass series has the veiled head of Pietas;-Patin could hardly have recollected that this was a portrait of Livia, the grandmother of Drusus, when he so indignantly wrote-" Quid cani cum balneo; aut Druso, viro impurissimo, cum pietate?" XXIV. Obverse. DRVSVS CAESAR TI. AVG. F. DIV. AVG. N. (Drusus Cæsar, Tiberii Augusti filius, Divi Augusti nepos.) A remarkably fine portrait of Drusus, with the head bare; the features have some resemblance to those of his father, but they are more sedate, manly, and expressive. It was struck A. D. 23, is very large and well spread of its class, in singularly good preservation, and came into my possession at Genoa, in 1818. Reverse. PONTIF. TRIBVN. POTEST. ITER. (Pontifex, Tribunitia potestate iterum.) In the area is an uncial S. C. This medal corroborates the marble of Gruter, and shews that Drusus was a pontiff; but the notion that he was therefore Pontifex Maximus is erroneous. The college of pontiffs of which he was made one, had the superintendance of all the orders of priesthood-and they were charged with the direction of public worship, sacrifices, funereal ceremonies, and all other religious solemnities. They were a highly-privileged class, and judging from the "Pontificum potiore cœnis" of Horace, and other hints, were not remarkable for contempt of worldly enjoyments. See No. CCCLXXXII. XXV. Obverse. (Absquè epigraphe.) A winged caduceus between two cornucopia, placed saltier, in each of which is inserted a youthful head. This type elegantly alludes to the abundance and prosperity of the empire at the time it was struck, for with all his vice and tyranny, Tiberius was pacific, and his reign was one of peace and plenty. It also refers to the fecundity of the imperial family in the birth of Drusus Gemellus and Tiberius Nero, the twin-sons of Drusus. This event gave the Emperor such joy that he exultingly told the senate he was the first of his rank whom the gods had so blessed. The caduceus shews that these infants were considered pledges of peace, as they took away the occasions of war by cutting off all disputed claims to the succession ;unfortunately however, the first died in his infancy, and the latter was put to death by Caligula. - 1 It was also the type of happiness" Caduceo, si cornucopiæ adjiciatur, Felicitatis indicium "Tum virgam capit: hac animas ille evocat Orco Dat somnos adimitque, et lumina morte resignat." Reverse. DRVSVS CAESAR TI. AVG. F. DIVI AVG. N. PONT. TR. POT. II. (Drusus Cæsar, Tiberii Augusti filius, Divi Augusti nepos, Pontifex, Tribunitia potestate iterum.) In the centre an uncial S. C. (Senatus Consulto.) This is a fine bold medal, covered with chocolatecoloured patina, and in most excellent conservation. It was struck A. D. 23, and presented to me by Admiral Sir Charles Penrose, in 1816. DRUSUS SENIOR.* Nero Claudius Drusus, the son of Tiberius C. Nero, and Livia Drusilla, was born B. C. 38, about three months after the marriage of his mother with Augustus, on which occasion the wags of Rome remarked that the latter, with his usual peculiar good-fortune, even had children in a shorter time than other men. Drusus was speedily advanced to high honours, and spent his life in the service of the state. In the year B. C. 27, he was sent into Gaul, where he acquitted himself with great credit, and from thence he was dispatched against the warlike Rhætians, over whom he obtained a signal victory near Trent. He was made Prætor B. C. 13, and Consul B. C. 9; soon after which he died, from the effects of a fall from his horse, at the early age of 30 years. Drusus presented a striking contrast to his brother, Tiberius-being tall and graceful, of an open-hearted disposition, and excellently qualified both for civil and military affairs; and he was, moreover, humane, affable, honest, and of extraordinary valour. The attachment he manifested to Antonia proved his conjugal sincerity and virtue, while the unblemished tenour of his character gained him the esteem of the Emperor, and prepossessed every body in his favour. His untimely death was a severe blow to Augustus and Livia, and his corpse was received into Rome with every observance that could stamp the grief and regard of all ranks of its citizens. Amongst other posthumous honours decreed by the senate to his memory, were the erection of a triumphal arch, and many trophies; medals were struck, and the agnomen of Germanicus added to his designation. The military valour, and success of Drusus, had endeared him to the whole army-he was the first Roman chieftain, according to Suetonius, that sailed on the Northern Ocean; and he constructed, on the farther side of the Rhine, those strong intrenchments which were thenceforward called Drusiana. • Drusus Senior and Antonia, seem to demand priority of Tiberius, in a cabinet, but I have followed the arrangement of medallists. The sorrow of the soldiers was therefore excessive: to testify their sense of the loss of so beloved a leader, they named the station in which he died the "Castra Scelerata," and constructed a stately monument on the bank of the river, around which they assembled every 11th of July, the anniversary of his death, to perform various evolutions in honour of the illustrious deceased. Velleius Paterculus says he was possessed of as many virtues as prudence can acquire, or human nature can admit. The beautiful ode of Horace, commencing with "Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem,' and ending by a fine compliment to the Claudian family, paints his military character with unfading lustre. Pedo Albinovantes wrote an admired elegy on his death; and Ovid commemorates the melancholy event in these emphatic lines "Et mortem, et nomen Druso Germania fecit; Me miserum, virtus quàm brevis illa fuit!" The libel which charges Augustus with compassing the death of Drusus, is so unsupported by evidence, and so opposed to facts and probability, that it needs no refutation; whether, with his avowed republican principles, he would have ultimately been the emperor's heir, is another question. The medals of Drusus are of a low degree of rarity, and consist of large-brass, gold, and silver, with some colonial ones. All those which bear the name, or effigies, of T. Claudius upon them, were struck by the Emperor Claudius in honour of his father, and to perpetuate his signal victories in Germany. Of the large-brass series, the restitutions of Titus and Domitian are the most valuable. XXVI. Obverse. NERO CLAVDIVS DRVSVS GERMANICVS IMP. (Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus Imperor.) The naked head of Drusus, with a profile bespeaking dignity and energy. This medal is in singularly fine preservation, and of the best workmanship;-it was struck by Claudius to the glory of his father; and found near Monasteer, on the coast of Tunis, in 1822. Reverse. TI. CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG. P. M. TR. P. IMP. (Tiberius Claudius Cæsar, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate, Imperator.) On the exergum S. C. A togated figure of Drusus, holding up a laurel branch ;-he is seated in a curule chair placed upon a "mundus," amidst shields, cuirasses, and other spoils of war; emblematic of his successes in Germany. XXVII. Obverse. NERO CLAVDIVS DRVSVS GERMANICVS IMP. (Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus Imperator.) The naked head of Drusus, with a profile highly expressive of firmness and majesty. Behind the head, in a sunken space, are the letters N. C. A. P. R. (Nummus concessus à Populo Romano.) Jobert reads it, "Nota cusa à Populo Romano;" but in either case it is evidently the token of a legal tender. This is one of the medals termed countermarkeda method by which the value of the coin may have been changed, or refixed-as we have lately seen practised in England, by a small stamp of George III. on the Spanish dollars which were in circulation here. Countermarks are principally seen upon large and middle-brass, but are not general; they differ from monograms, in that the one is struck with the coin, and the other is always an addition. Reverse. TI. CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG. P. M. TR. P. IMP. P. P. (Tiberius Claudius Cæsar, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate, Imperator, Pater Patria.) The seated figure as in No. XXVII.; and both appear to have been minted B. C. 8. This medal is of fine yellow brass, without patina, and was procured from a numismatic friend, in London, in 1829; having formerly belonged to the cabinet of Mr. J. F. Edgar. ་ ANTONIA. This illustrious princess is distinguished from an elder sister of the same name, by the epithet of" minor;" but as she is the only one, of whom medals are known, her name is used simply by numismatists. She was the daughter of Mark Anthony, the triumvir, by Octavia, the sister of Augustus-and was born at Rome about B. C. 38. It is uncertain in what year she was married to Drusus, the pride of the Claudian family-but she lost her husband B. C. 9, and died A. D. 38, under strong suspicion of having been poisoned by order of Caligula, her grandson, whom she had taken upon herself to admonish for his monstrous and manifold wickedness. Antonia resembled her mother, in being as much distinguished by personal charms as by virtue—and it is a pleasure to find such a personage brightening the dark details of the Imperial race. Her conduct as a wife was remarkable for harmony and conjugal fidelity; and after the death of Drusus, she passed an inconsolable widowhood of 47 years, though frequently and earnestly pressed by Augustus, while in the meridian of her youth and beauty, to marry again. Thus, by a noble continence, she compensated for her father's greatest defect; and the remainder of her life-consecrated to the strict observance of her vows-was passed in so exemplary a course of prudence, unostentatious excellence, and dignity free from pride, as to steer her in safety through the terrific reign of Tiberius. Valerius Maximus, Plutarch, and Josephus, have borne testimony to her meritorious career; others remark that she knew not the taste of wine; and Pliny, as a climax, assures us that she was never known to spit ! An apparent deficiency of feeling, in this princess, has been variously animadverted upon-but the merely reverting to the tenour of the times is sufficient to account for it. Tacitus tells us, that, neither in any historian, nor in the journals of the city, could he find that Antonia bore any part in the funeral of her son Germanicus, though Agrippina, Drusus, Claudius, and the other relations of the deceased, were there recorded by name. Perhaps, says he, she was prevented by sickness; or she was sensible that she must have sunk under the weight of her sorrows. "To speak my own opinion," he adds, “I am inclined to believe that she was detained by Tiberius, that he and Livia might seem to have followed her example, and the people not think it strange that the uncle and grandmother had absented themselves when the mother had not appeared, but ascribe their absence to the same cause-an equal affliction." The unfeeling contempt she is said to have manifested towards her son Claudius is not so easily defensible. See No. XXXVIII. On the death of Drusus, extraordinary honours were paid to Antonia; and, what is remarkable, she was the means of Anthony's family, in spite of all their misfortunes, |