AE As, A.D. 41-50, Rome, 31mm, 11.2g, ~160°, : RIC I 97. Ex Hanlon collection.
Obv: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP. Bare head left.
Rev: LIBERTAS AVGVSTA. Libertas standing facing, holding pileus and raising hand; S-C in field.
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Tiberius Claudius Drusus was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul to Drusus and Antonia Minor; the first emperor to be born outside Italy. Afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius' and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.

Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the empire. During his reign the empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judea, and began the conquest of Britain. He took a personal interest in law, presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day.

In the early hours of 13 October 54, Claudius died of poisoning and while contemporary accounts vary greatly, nearly all implicate his last wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Shortly before his death, Claudius had changed his will to recommend his son Britannicus and Agrippina’s son Nero rule jointly, or perhaps even Britannicus solely. He also talked openly of divorcing Agrippina and dismissing Nero altogether. Tacitus claims that upon the death of Claudius, Britannicus and his sisters Octavia and Antonia were locked in their rooms to ensure that no counter claim could be made to Nero's succession and Claudius' new will was suppressed. Claudius’ ashes were interred in the Mausoleum of Augustus on the 24th and he was almost immediately deified by Nero and the Senate.