So I asked a question in a recent thread but it didnt get much attention.. maybe its a stupid question... but Im curious if any emperor ever hated or disliked the way they were portrayed on coins? I know they wouldve had some input into it but you see a lot of emperors with some very drastic changes in their portraits. The Gallienus thread is a good example which made me think about this.
Id like to think Maximinus Thrax would have approved of this drastic makeover. Its almost like ancient plastic surgery.
Sorry. I didn't mean for it to turn into a Domitian thread, but he was the first to come to my mind. I'm sure there are others, but, for now, I can't think of any.
@Bing it's all good I needed a coin to share anyway! It really does show the change even between being caesar and augustus. Makes you wonder what they thought of it. Thanks for sharing
I believe Augustus changed his appearance from that of a young lad to a more severe looking portrait. He also tried to keep his portraits young looking even as he aged. But all I have are the ones that make him appear young:
Pishpash did mention that Augustus only wanted to be seen in his prime on coins and statues. Makes sense Ive never seen a geriatric Augustus. Nice coins Bing!
Keep in mind the Rome mint style under Vespasian and Titus was semi-verisitic. Domitian changed all that several months after he became emperor to a more idealised one. Arguably, the years 84-88 saw the highpoint of this new style, culminating in what I would call 'Flavian Baroque'. Verisitic (81 AD) Idealised (85 AD) 'Flavian Baroque' (88 AD) I would assume Domitian was not satisfied with the early verisitc style and ordered his mint master to switch to a more pleasing one when the mint was reorganised in 82.
I know what your saying I see a lot of difference in the portraits on coins of the same emperor, so what I do and have done extensively is compare against sculptures that were made in there lifetime (although most are in Rome) to give myself more of an idea of what exaggerations the die engravers did.
I took quite a few pics of sculptures of emperors when over there (Rome), just an example Nerva's nose didn't look anywhere as hooked as it is on coins.
I have about 20 sculpture pics and tried to get the emperors name in as well, not a hundred percent sure but I think this is Domitian (David will like this).
According to Suetonius Domitian was balding. His portraits in the round suggest he wore some sort of hairpiece.
I also posted this thread https://www.cointalk.com/threads/augustus-lived-for-77-years-41-years-emperor.282502/ which has quite a few Augustus comparisons as Bing brought up.