The Praetorian Camp, located northeast of Rome between the Porta Viminalis and Porta Collina beyond the Servian Wall, played a crucial role in the rise of Emperor Claudius. Following the assassination of Caligula in AD 41, Claudius, the sole surviving male of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, was unexpectedly elevated to the imperial throne by the Praetorian Guard. Discovered cowering behind a palace curtain, he was hailed as emperor and escorted to the fortified Castra Praetoria. To secure their loyalty, Claudius awarded the guards a substantial monetary bonus, ensuring their support and pressuring the Senate to ratify his position as princeps. This event was commemorated on his coinage, notably with the reverse inscription "IMPER RECEPT," meaning "The Emperor Received."

The ascent of Claudius was unorthodox, resembling an unplanned coup rather than a calculated succession. His physical disabilities, often the subject of ridicule, unexpectedly shielded him from political intrigue and marked him as an unlikely candidate for power. The Praetorian Guard, recognizing his legitimacy and potential as a stabilizing figure, installed him as emperor, securing their own influential position within the imperial structure. Claudius, in turn, honored their loyalty through coinage depicting scenes of his accession, including the walled Praetorian Camp and an image of himself clasping hands with a Praetorian soldier, symbolizing their pivotal role in his rise.

The origins of the Praetorian Guard date back to the Roman Republic, but under Augustus, the force evolved into an elite imperial unit responsible for the emperor's safety. By AD 23, the camp, Castra Praetoria, was constructed on the outskirts of Rome under the guidance of Sejanus, Tiberius' powerful prefect. The camp's proximity to the city served as both a deterrent to civil unrest and a reminder of imperial authority. The depiction of the camp's fortified walls on Claudius' coinage emphasized his reliance on the Praetorians for securing and legitimizing his rule, reflecting their integral role in the empire's power dynamics.

The Praetorian Camp remained a significant military and political institution until its eventual dissolution by Constantine the Great in AD 312 following his victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Constantine disbanded the Praetorian Guard and ordered the destruction of the camp, incorporating parts of its walls into the later Aurelian Walls. Today, only remnants of the camp survive, but its historical significance endures, immortalized in the coins of Claudius, which celebrated the Praetorian Guard's decisive role in one of Rome’s most dramatic moments of succession.

Claudius. AD 41-54. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.65 g, 1h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck AD 44-45. TI CLAVD • CAESAR • AVG • P • M • TR • P • IIII, laureate head right / IMPER RECEPT across top of front wall, view of the praetorian camp; in front is a wall with two small arched openings below and five battlements on top; above and behind it stands a soldier on guard left, holding a spear in right hand; to his right, an aquila; behind him is a pediment, in which is a crescent, on two pillars, flanked left and right by walls, each with a battlement above and an arch below. RIC I 25 (Rome); von Kaenel Type 21, – (unlisted dies); Lyon 40 (unlisted dies); Calicó 361b; BMCRE 23 (Rome); BN 43-4; Biaggi 206

Ex Heath Collection, Triton XXII, January 8-9, 2019, lot 1006; ex CNG Web Shop; LHS 100, April 23-24, 2007, lot 466; Gerhard Hirsch 3, 1954, lot 224; Münzhandlung Basel 8, March 22, 1937, lot 575 (there purchased by Cahn); Published in "von Kaenel Type 21, 302 (V331/R336) (this coin)"