Caligula Ancient Coin - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 349
mikev50 Pillar of the Community United States 1862 Posts	Posted 02/12/2026 06:13 am is this a actual portrait/coin of caligula--thinking of buying--price is 95$--17.08 mm--4.37 gms--thanks-- Edited by mikev50 02/12/2026 06:30 am Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16806 Posts	Posted 02/12/2026 08:14 am It is indeed a Roman Provincial coin of Caligula, from the city of Philadelphia (the city in what we now call Turkey, which the American city was named after), with his name in Greek (GAIOS KAISAR) around the portrait. So the portrait is certainly supposed to be that of the notorious emperor himself. How photo-realistic or life-like the portrait is, is another question. As noted in the previous thread on the subject, the provinces didn't seem to have been sent an official portrait out to them; they knew the emperor's name but not necessarily what he looked like. A quick browse of the Caligula portrait coins on Wildwinds shows quite a wide variation in the emperor's appearance. This portrait looks much more like a young Augustus or Tiberius, than Caligula; I'd presume the die-cutter in Philadelphia made a best-guess for his portrait, knowing Caligula was related to the previous emperors. They at least have got Caligula's curly hair correct. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
travelcoin Pillar of the Community United States 1120 Posts	Posted 02/13/2026 10:49 am Quote: This portrait looks much more like a young Augustus or Tiberius, than Caligula Definitely, looks like Augustus... Report this Post to the Staff
Victor Pillar of the Community United States 901 Posts	Posted 02/13/2026 12:20 pm provincial coinage frequently used a generic Julio-Claudian bust Report this Post to the Staff
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