Nero coins

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. Eight years later, Crispus died under suspicious circumstances, leaving Agrippina extremely wealthy. The mother-son pair were one step closer to the throne. While no definitive proof exists, most historians agree that after a series of public arguments and a dramatic rise in marital tensions, Agrippina poisoned Claudius. Thanks in part to the historians Tacitus , Suetonius , and Dio Cassius , there are few Roman emperors who can claim as much historical bad press as Nero.

Interestingly, all three historians wrote well after Nero committed suicide in 68 CE. Regardless of how cruel and despotic Nero became once he donned the purple, his coinage was highly realistic and evolved over time to accurately reflect his portrait. This was a departure from the Julio-Claudian tradition of idealized youthful portraiture started by Augustus almost 80 years prior.

As part of his imperial propaganda, Augustus tightly controlled how his image appeared on statues, coins, and paintings. Coins minted at the beginning of his reign bare almost the exact same portrait as those struck near the end of it. Even though this trend continued throughout the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the successor emperors Tiberius , Caligula , and Claudius continued to use stylized portraiture, they were nevertheless more realistic as can be seen below.

While the coin of Caligula was struck when he was only about 25 years old, it depicts a brutal and tough portrait. Instead of the previously popular youthful portrait, this example accurately illustrates the wrinkles and general aging that everyone experiences. The Augustan denarius depicts Augustus on the obverse and Agrippa on the reverse as Caesar. Similarly, the Claudian example depicts the emperor Claudius on the obverse and a young Nero on the reverse. Both coins employ the Julio-Claudian idealized youthful portraits.

At the time of striking, Nero was only 14 years old, so he truly was a child as this portrait suggests. This example fits within the first of four types within which historians and numismatists group Neronian portraiture. With the average reign for Roman emperors until the end of the fourth century lasting only eight years, many emperors did not have the chance to grow old in office Olsen.

Ascending to the throne at 17 and ruling until he died at age 30, Nero provides us with more than 13 years of evolving numismatic portraiture to study. He quickly transitions from a thin, youthful teenager to a portly year-old, and by the end of his reign, he has transformed into an overweight adult.

Coins minted between 54 and 58 CE fall into the second type of Neronian portraiture. Type II coins still display the helmet style of hair yet now depict a more mature teenager.

Agrippina initially tried to control the young emperor and an early series struck from CE, with some provincial examples struck until 57, depict both the emperor and the empress as seen in this example.

Struck in 55, this coin features the famous Neronian jugate, or double, bust and is full of imperial propaganda. Die Alignment Ancient Coin Prices Ancient Glass.

Anonymous Follis. Anonymous Class A Folles. Coins of Pontius Pilate. Dictionary of Roman Coins. Greek Alphabet.

Wiki Historia Numorum. Latin Plurals. Library of Ancient Coinage. Life in Ancient Rome. Nabataean Numerals. Numismatic Excellence Award. Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet. Phoenician Alphabet. Pi-Style Athens Tetradrachms. Reading Judean Coins. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Syracusian Folles. The Temple Tax Hoard. Travels of Paul.