Roman Cistophoric tetradrachm, or treble denarius Coin

Inv. No.: c067
Date: c. A.D. 50-51.
Weight: 9.90g
 
Obv.: Heads of Claudius and Agrippina, jugate.
TI.CLAVD.CAES.AVG.AGRIPP.AVGVSTA

Rev.: Cult statue of Diana facing, wearing polos; her hands resting on ornamented staves (or with fillets hanging from her wrists).
DIANA EPHESIA

The name of the coin is derived from the tetradrachms issued by Attalus I of Pergamum c. 200 B.C., the obverses of which depicted a chest (cista) with a serpent crawling out from under a half-open lid. The denomination persisted long after Asia Minor became a Roman province, and, even though the original obverse type disappeared under Augustus, the name of the coins was unchanged. Their classification as medallions, though common, is unwarranted, as the coins formed part of the regular currency and bore a fixed value of three denarii or four drachmas.

Claudius, in the last four years of his reign, minted many precious metal coins in honour of Agrippina and Nero. In the light of his tragic end, this is cruelly ironic.

Comparanda:
RIC, Claudius 54.