Cleveland Museum of Art

Aureus: Bust of Claudius I (obverse); Triumphal Arch with Equestrian Statue and Trophies (reverse)

Date

47–48 CE

Medium

gold

Culture

England, Roman, Claudius I (41–54 CE)

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Minted in Rome, this coin depicts the triumphal arch erected there in 44 AD commemorating Claudius in the campaign in Britain. On top of the arch is the emperor seated on a horse between two military trophies. The arch itself was a converted aqueduct which crossed the main road leading north toward Rome. Claudius was the youngest of the three surviving children of Drusus and Antonia Minor and the first Roman emperor to have been born outside Rome. During his reign, Claudius started the successful campaign for the conquest of Britain.

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