While visiting Denver last week, I spotted the coin below in a local shop. It wasn't very expensive and the card inside the flip read "Roman Empire Nero Silver Hemidrachm 50 A.D." Intrigued, I bought it and increased my humble ancient collection to 3 pieces. The coin has a max diameter somewhere between 15mm - 16mm and weighs 1.75g. With the naked eye, the slightly smeared lettering remains difficult to make out in places, though the "NER" of "NERO" stands out fairly well even at a distance. Using other examples from the web, it appears that the obverse text reads "NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERMANI," which of course becomes much easier to read in magnification. The reverse features Victory seated on a globe holding a wreath. I'm not yet sure about the mint, but many of this type seem to come from Cappadocia. A little more research taught me, still an ancients newbie, that a "hemidrachm" equals half of a drachm or 3 obols (triobol). Though not an absolutely excellent specimen, I liked the portrait and found it pretty appealing, especially for the price.
It looks fine to me in and of itself and when compared to others in CNG's archives*. Not a Nero you see every day. Nice find! *Usual disclaimer: I am not an expert
From the image I see nothing wrong. It is from Cappadocia and I believe the attribution might be: Nero AR Hemidrachm of Caesaria, Cappadocia. c54-63 AD. NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERMANI, laureate head right / Victory seated right on globe, writing on shield, SGI 616, RPC 3645. RIC 617. Sydenham 82. The wildwinds image is here: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/nero/RIC_0617.1.jpg And like TIF I have to admit I am no expert.
This is an early portrait of Nero and because it was struck away from Rome, the portrait resembles Claudius. In fact, when I first saw the OP's image, I thought it was Claudius.
Nice find, I wouldn't mind adding that to my collection. Looking for a Nero. Not seen that example before.
Great coin @ewomack I have to agree with @Bing when I first saw it I thought of Claudius. This is a very nice addition to any collection.
Took me a moment to figure out why kids who-ate-too-much-bubblegum would relate to a "hemi"drachm... But, then, I saw the reverse and see why you posted the pic. I love the OP Hemidrachm, and the sitting on the globe... I have never seen that before! My only Nero... Roman Imperial Nero 54-68 CE AR Tetradrachm Eagle
Based on the comments so far, I'm happy that my impulse to buy wasn't misguided. I really liked the look of the piece. Also, I wasn't too worried about authenticity since I bought it from a fairly reputable coin shop in the area. They handle everything from 25 cent grab bags to heavy duty certified gold. Plus, the coin has a small personal connection for me. I recently started reading Seneca's "Letters From A Stoic" and it always heightens the historicity of a book to have a coin from the same period handy. Since it sounds like the hemidrachm was an issue earlier in Nero's reign, it may come from the time when Seneca was running the Empire while Nero went off pleasure seeking for a few years. Of course that came back to haunt Seneca later, but the coincidence of reading Seneca and finding a Nero-era coin in the same trip felt almost too good to be true. Ancients are slowly becoming my favorite coins. The first book in the Sayles series is also on its way to me. I really look forward to learning more.
Congrats @ewomack !! That's definitely a type that I wouldn't have immediately recognized as Nero and would have had my doubts about since it seems 'unusual'...but unfamiliar 'styling' can confuse those of us not specializing in any particular series...I LOVE IT!!!!
