Nero Reduced module Orichalcum As 64 A.D Rome mint NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P Laureate head right GENIO AVGVSTI S - C Genius standing left, nude to the waist, sacrificing from patera in right over altar at feet on left, cornucopia in right I in exergue 22 mm RIC I 219 This coin is either an Ancient Counterfeit or an Official coin, but I cannot tell which. This coin was given to me while I was at the ANA Summer Seminar.
Windchild, I cannot offer you too much help regarding the authenticity of your coin ... sorry, my young friend ... Ummm, but I should comment that your coin looks quite a bit like a Ritz-cracker ... oh, but a "genuine" Ritz-cracker!!
Thanks Doug, This coin is an official mint issue, of a rather rare issue. I'm going to add some addition description to this coin here. Reduced module Orichalcum As -> An early bronze issue for Nero who did not strike bronze during the first years of his reign. Under Nero, the mint produced brass asses on a weight standard of one-half a dupondius. The letter I denotes one as, while II appears on dupondii equal to two asses and S appears on the semis. The experiment of the brass as was not continued by his successors, though some issued the 3g brass semis and Trajan and Hadrian produced brass 4g 1/3 and 8g 2/3 dupondius coins in the East. [From a Forvm listing] 64 A.D -> July 19th, half of Rome burns during the Great Fire of Rome. -> Nero blames the Christians -> The 'Second Wave' of Persecution of the Christians by the Romans start NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P -> Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Pontifex Maximus Tribunicia Potestas Imperator Pater Patriae “Caesar Augustus Nero Claudius, High Priest and Ruler of Rome and Germania, Supreme Commander of the armies of Rome, the father of his country, leader of the Triumvirate for as long as he shall live.” [from PDF by Ancient Coins for Education] I in exergue -> Denomination mark of 1 [more above with Doug's post] RIC I 219 -> R2 (11-15 recorded by RIC 1 in 1984)
