Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in 37 AD) was Claudius’ great-nephew and Agrippina Jr.’s son. Nero became emperor in 54 AD at the age of 16, when Claudius died (probably by poisoning) and Nero would be the last of the Julio-Claudians to rule Rome. Agrippina had survived banishment by her brother Caligula in 39 AD, supposedly for plotting to assassinate him, and her son Nero had his inheritance taken from him and was sent to live with his paternal aunt. Caligula’s assassination by the Praetorian Guard in 41 AD cleared the way for Nero’s eventual return, as a potential successor to Claudius alongside Claudius’ own son Britannicus. Agrippina Jr. cemented this arrangement by marrying her uncle Claudius in 49 AD and persuading Claudius to formally adopt Nero as his son. Upon Claudius’ death, Nero was hailed as the new emperor by the Praetorian Guard. Nero (or possibly his mother), worried that Claudius’ biological son Britannicus (whose mother was the disgraced Messalina) might eventually become emperor, arranged to have him poisoned less than a year after being hailed emperor. Agrippina apparently meant to rule through her son, much like Livia had through her son Tiberius, but evidently Nero tired of this quickly, banishing her from Rome shortly after he poisoned Britannicus in 55 AD. In 59 AD, Nero killed his mother for reasons that ancient historians are unable to completely agree upon. Tacitus believes that Nero’s disagreement with his mother over Nero’s affair with Poppaea (both Nero and Poppaea were married to others at the time) was a key factor, but this theory isn’t universally shared. The actual murder was supposed to take place during a shipwreck arranged by Nero, but Agrippina survived the shipwreck, swam to shore, and was promptly killed by one of Nero’s henchmen, who then reported the death as a suicide. Most historians believe that Nero’s reign had been going well before Agrippina’s death. Nero left the management of the Empire to his advisors Seneca and Burrus, under whose stewardship the Empire continued to prosper. But shortly after Nero had his mother murdered, he began engaging in his passion for drinking, singing, acting, music, and sexual depravities of all types. Suetonius describes numerous lurid acts of debauchery and cruelty by Nero, not suitable for general audiences… In 62 AD, his advisor Burrus died, his other advisor Seneca was encouraged to retire, and he divorced his first wife Claudia Octavia and had her executed. He then married his lover Poppaea, formerly the wife of Otho (whom Nero had conveniently assigned to be governor of Lusitania, removing Otho from the immediate vicinity). Unfortunately, Seneca’s and Burrus’ successors were not quite as able in managing the Empire, a task for which Nero himself had little interest or aptitude. He indulged his passions in frequent stage performances as an actor, poet, singer and musician, which the Roman found extremely undignified and not befitting an emperor. At least he didn’t have Twitter at his disposal… In 64 AD, while Nero was at the seaside town of Antium, the great fire of Rome erupted, starting on the slope of the Aventine hill near the Circus Maximus. It burned for over a week, destroying three of Rome’s 14 districts and damaging seven more. Contrary to the myth, Nero probably didn’t fiddle while Rome burned, and in fact did much to help relieve the suffering both during and after the blaze. Nero blamed the fire on the small Christian community in Rome, but many citizens believed Nero purposely had the fire started to clear the land necessary to build his “Golden House” that he had begun to construct a few years previously. Following the fire, Nero’s construction of his new palace prevented the original inhabitants of that area from returning to rebuild, and its expense compounded the financial crisis that had started a few years previously due to a couple costly wars in Britain and Armenia. Not surprisingly, this dissatisfaction fomented a plot against the emperor headed by Calpurnius Piso, who wanted to replace Nero as emperor. But the plot was soon discovered and Nero executed all those involved. In 67 AD Nero went on a grand tour of Greece, competing in the Isthmian, Pythian, Olympic and Nemean Games. He “won” a chariot race at the Olympic Games despite falling out of his chariot midway through the race. During one of Nero’s soporific performances, the future emperor Vespasian fell asleep and was summarily dismissed from Nero’s entourage. The incredibly expensive Greek tour was cut short when Nero was convinced to return to Rome in late 67 AD by his ex-slave Helius, whom Nero had left in charge of Rome during his travels. But this was too little, too late, as Vindex led a revolt in Gaul a few months after Nero’s return to Rome. Although Vindex was defeated in May, he had gained the allegiance of Galba, one of Nero’s best generals. The Rhine legions that had defeated Vindex refused to obey further commands by Nero, and in North Africa Clodius Macer led his own revolt against Nero. All of these events conspired to seriously undermine Nero’s support in Rome. He fled to his villa a few miles from Rome, but was betrayed by his freedman and was confronted in his villa by soldiers who attempted to force him to commit suicide. Unable to perform this particular act by himself, Nero died in 68 AD by a combination of his own hand and a soldier’s sword. This would set in motion The Year of Four Emperors. About the Coins Nero’s apparently artistic temperament is manifested in the close personal attention he paid to his coinage. His highly individual portraiture is a marked departure from that of his predecessors, and he indulged his penchant for music and the arts in general, typified by an Imperial reverse showing Nero as Apollo playing the lyre. The financial crises he faced forced him to lower the precious metal content in aurei and denarii, the weight of the aureus dropping by about 2% and the weight of the denarius dropping by about 7%. He reintroduces AES coinage, struck at both Rome and Lugdunum, which hadn’t been issued in almost two decades. Provincial tetradrachms in Egypt and Syria were recalled, melted, and replaced with new coins that dropped the silver content from about 23% to 15%. Some historians believe that this latter reduction in silver freed enough of the metal to fund the rebuilding of Rome. My Nero mint set is a fair representation of the artistry of his coins. The sestertius is a Port of Ostia, slightly double-struck on the reverse, with Nero taking credit for the completion of this project started by Claudius. The Roma aureus comes the closest to being FDC; not only is the strike fresh and all the detail sharp, but the devices are fully on the flan. It doesn’t quite have the mint luster of the Claudius aureus shown previously, but it has no apparent circulation wear. Let's see everyone's Neros! Next: Galba
Great coins, I really like the sestertius & aureus. Mine are nearly all tets. Nero & Divo Claudius (54 - 69 A.D.) AR Drachm CAESAREA CAPPADOCIA O: NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERM, laureate head of Nero. R: DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST GERMANIC PATER AVG, Claudius' laureate head right. 19mm 3.47g RIC 621, RSC 3, RPC 3648 Nero (54 - 68 A.D.) AR Tetradrachm SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch O: NEPΩNOΣ KAICAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, Laureate bust right, wearing aegis. R: Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, with wings spread; palm frond to left, H/IP (dates) to right. Dated year 110 of the Caesarian era; RY 8 (AD 61/62). 27mm 13.4g RPC I 4182; McAlee 258; Prieur 82. Nero (54 - 68 A.D.) Billon Tetradrachm EGYPT, Alexandria O: NERW KLAY KAIS SEB GER, radiate head right, aegis on chest. R: AYTO-KRA, draped bust of Alexandria right, wearing elephant skin headdress; date LIB to right. Alexandria, Egypt. Dated Year 12 (65 - 66 A.D.) 12g 25mm RPC 5289; Milne 238; Dattari 204; Geissen 172; Sear 2004. Poppaea (63 - 65 A.D.) Billon tetradrachm O: NEPΩ KΛAY KAIΣ ΣEB ΓEP AY, radiate head right. R.ΠOΠΠAIA ΣEBAΣTH, draped bust of Poppaea right, date LI right (year 10). Alexandria mint 63 - 64 A.D. 12.5g 25mm Milne 216, Curtis 132, RPC I 5275, Geissen 157 Ex HJB
Once again a great collection, love the Ostia Sestertius , thanks IdesofMarch. Provincial: Rome budget As:
NEROAE OBVERSE: NERWN KLAYDIOS KAISAR GER, draped bust right REVERSE: QYAT-EIRH/NW-N, labrys (double axe) Struck at Thyateira, Lydia, 55AD 2.97g, 17mm RPC 2381; SNG von Aulock 3216; BMC 58; SNG Copenhagen 595; SNG Munich 612; Weber 6931; Mionnet VII 596; Lindgren I 834 NERO AE As OBVERSE: NERO CAESAR AVG GERM IMP - Laureate head right REVERSE: No legend - Victory advancing left, holding shield Struck at Rome, 65AD 8.5g, 26mm RIC 312, BMC 241, S 1976 NERO AR Denarius OBVERSE: NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS - Laureate head right REVERSE: No legend Exe: SALVS - Salus seated left, holding patera Struck at Rome, 65/6AD 2.9g, 18mm RIC 60, BMC 90, C 314 NERO AR Billon Tetradrachm OBVERSE: NERW KLAV KAIS SEB GER, radiate bust right, wearing aegis REVERSE: AVTOKPA, draped bust of Alexandria right in elephant skin headdress, LIB to right, year 12 Struck at Alexandria, Egypt, 65/6AD 10.8g, 28mm Köln 172-174; Curtis 36-54, Dattari 204, SGI 633, RPC 5289. NERO AR Drachm OBVERSE: NERO CLAVD DIVI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERM, laureate head of Nero right. REVERSE: DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST GERMANIC PATER AVG, Claudius' laureate head right Struck at Caesarea, Cappodocia, 63/4AD 3.6g, 17mm RIC 621, RSC 3, RPC 3648
Marvelous thread and posts!!! I guess I'll throw in my best silver example: Nero (54-68 AD). AR Denarius (17 mm, 2.99 g), Roma (Rome), 65-66. Obv. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head to right. Rev. VESTA, Hexastyle temple of Vesta with domed roof, set on podium of four steps; within, statue of Vesta seated left, holding patera and scepter. RIC 62.
Great writeup! I enjoyed the insightful observations about his artistic temperament, and the vignettes about the responses of his closest associates. My addition is small, but hopefully meaningful. Nero Claudius Caesar (64-68) (BMCRE 54; RSC 43; RIC 41) Minted at Rome NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS Laureate head right, with beard AVGVSTVS AVGVSTA Nero radiate, togate, stg. l holding patera in r hand, long scepter in left. Empress veiled and draped, on his right, standing left, holding patera in r hand and cornucopia in l. The appearance of a radiate crown on the figure of the Emperor owes most likely to an association with the sun as put forward by Dio "who tells us that rays, from no visible source, played on him as a baby." (Mattingly). There is some disagreement among the catalogers on the identification of the empress on this coin. Seaby (RSC) associates this figure with Messalina. Mattingly (BMCRE) acknowledges the plausibility that the scene may resemble the honors which had been bestowed on Nero and Messalina on a visit to Greece in 66, but regards the coins as dating too early for that association. He prefers to identify the AVGVSTA with the Imperial consort Poppea who died just before the marriage to Messalina in 65. He would place this coin at the beginning of the range for the later undated coins.
I have some As and Dupondii in my collection, but here at this moment, only this pic: Nero as Caesar (under Claudius). Fourrée denarius. 50-54AD. RIC I 79 (Claudius). R2 By the way, awesome coins!!!!
Wonderful coins @IdesOfMarch01. I really liked your writeup as well. Here are my 2 coins of Nero. I knew when I started building my 12 Caesars collection that I would eventually want a pre-reform denarius of Nero. The problem is that these are quite scarce in any condition. Also, there is much competition for them the they do appear for sale. Denarii like this one were minted before Nero decided to debase the silver coinage. Pre-reform denarii like this one are at near 100% fineness. This dropped considerably after the debasement. The earlier denarii are also heavier than the post reform coinage.One reason Nero debased the coins was to make up for a shortfall in available cash because of the massive spending he committed to building projects. This is not a perfect coin, but I like several things about it. First, I like the younger more slender portrait. Contrast this with the "Fat tyrant" portrait of the other Nero denarius I own. I also like that the legends are intact. True, they are worn, but they are still readable. Nero. A.D. 61. AR denarius (18.40 mm, 3.37 g, 7 h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Obv: NERO CAESAR AVG IMP, bare head right Rev: PONTIF MAX TR P VIII COS IIII P P, EX S C across field, Roma standing right, holding and inscribing shield supported on knee, foot on helmet; dagger and bow at feet to right. RIC 34 (R3); RSC 231. aVF, toned. Rare. From the D. Thomas Collection; Ex Hohn Leipziger Munzhandlung. Auction 85 June 2-4 2016 Lot 1832 Ex: Agora Auctons sale 68 Lot 195 August 15 2017. The portrait on this coin is what I like to call the "Fat tyrant" portrait. Earlier coins of Nero show a much more slender and younger version. Although he did not fiddle or play the lyre while Rome burned, he did mange to spend the imperial coffers quite extravagantly. His excesses, including many building projects meant that Nero had to make the silver for coins stretch to provide ample coinage for the empire. In order to do this he debased the denarii. While they were once near 100% fineness, Nero reduced this considerably. He also reduced the weight of the denarii. This is one of the reasons why some early denarii are scarce to very rare. People hoarded or melted down the earlier denarii. This includes the coins of Nero himself. While coins of Nero after the debasement are relatively easy to find (but very popular), his earlier coins are quite difficult to find. If you are interested in Nero and see a pre-reform denarius recognize that you might not see another for a while. This coin is also interesting because of the reverse. Notice it has both the legionary standards, and Aqilla-the legionary eagle. Vespasian was not the only one to use previous coin types. Legionary denarii were minted by Marcus Antonius. I do not know why Nero would want to recall these earlier days. However, the earlier legionary denarii were still circulating at the time of Nero's rule. they were made of poor silver and so they were exchanged many times over the years. Nero. AD 54-68. AR Denarius Rome mint. Struck AD 68. (17.68 mm, 3.37 g) Obv: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P P, Laureate head right Rev: Legionary eagle between two standards. RIC I 68 (R2); RSC 356. SRCV (2000) 1947 Ex: CNG e-auction 370 lot 391 March 9, 2016
very nice write up and examples on the OP and replies.. i have a few of Nero. his is the only coin i've ever had stolen from my collection. his coins are any but boring to be sure. two of my favorite bronzes, a dupondius and As.
My favorite Nero issues are the Temple of Janus coins that showed Peace everywhere in the Empire for a very few days before the Judean revolt brought it to an end. I suspect this upset Nero greatly - greatly enough that he sent Vespasian to put the Judeans in their place. All mine are asses. I would love to have a sestertius. There are many variations on the theme in all metals.
NERO: RI Nero AR Tetradrachm 54-68 CE Eagle With a wife: RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64AD Milne 217 RPC 5275 And a couple of VINDEX that started the Civil War to kill off that creep Nero... RI Civil War Gaius Julius VINDEX 68-69 CE AR Denarius 3.22g Gallic mint SALVS GENERIS HVMANI Victory l globe - SPQR in wreath RIC 72 BMCRE 34-36 RSC 420 RARE RI Civil War Revolt of Gaius Julius Vindex CE 68-69 AR Denarius ROMA RESTITVTA - IVPITER LIBERATOR Jupiter seated r Tbolt Scepter 17mm 3.02g RIC I 62 RSC 374-RARE Interesting that it was Gaul that suffered and was subjugated by the First Julio-Claudian (Gaius Julius Caesar), and it was a Gaul Noble with the name of Gaius Julius Vindex that started the Civil War to STOP the Julio-Claudian line! I kinda like those rebel-type guys... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Julius_Vindex
Before opening it I knew that would be a killer thread. I'm not disappointed in any way !!! Nero, Denarius Rome mint, AD 64/65 NERO CAESAR, laureate head of Nero right AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, Nero standing facing, holding branch and victory on globe 3,32 gr Ref : RCV #1941, Cohen #45, RIC # 47 The following comment, from NFA, auction XX catalog, # 118 : Nero's coinage reform of A.D. 64 saw a reduction in the weight standard of both the aureus and denarius denominations. A whole new range of reverse types was introduced with an unmistakably imperial flavor, in marked contrast to the senatorial types of the pre-reform coinage. This coin depicts a standing figure of the emperor, wearing the radiate crown of the sun god Sol, holding a branch of peace and a small figure of Victory. An allusion to the settlement of the Parthian question, following Corbulo's successes in Armenia in A.D. 63, seems unmistakable. It is tempting to identify this reverse type with the statue of the sun god, with the facial features of the emperor, erected by Nero in front of his Domus Aurea (Golden House), which was one of the principal features of the reconstruction following the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64. The Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) was later erected on the site of the Domus Aurea's ornamental lake, and received its popular name from its close proximity to Nero's statue Nero, Dupondius minted in Rome in 65 AD NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER PM TR P IMP PP, Radiate head of Nero right ROMA in ex, SC in field, Roma seated left holding wreath and parazonium, , right foot on a helmet 13.06 gr Ref : RCV #1966, Cohen #280 Nero and Poppaea, tetradrachm Alexandria mint, AD 63-64 NERO KLAY KAIS SEB TEP AY, radiate head of Nero right TTOTTTTAIA SEBASTH, draped bust of Poppaea right, LI in right field 12.3 gr Ref : RCV # 2002 v, Emmett # 129 Q
That's a terrific Nero collection IdesOfMarch01, I especially like your Port of Ostia. I have a few. Temple of Vesta, AR Denarius. 3.3gms. Nero's great provision market, Macellum Magnum, 64-65 AD, AE 29.5mm, 12.6g Temple of Janus, AE 10.9gm, 26mm. AE As ARA PACIS, 65 AD, 9.89gm, 29mm Alexandrian Tet, Nero & Tiberius, 66-67 AD, 23.7mm, 12.58gm. Nero 65 AD
Great write ups IOM, I've enjoyed reading them! My only Nero.... Egypt. Alexandria. Nero. 54-68 AD. Billon Tetradrachm Dated year 10 (63/4 AD). Obv.: radiate head right. Rev.: draped bust of Serapis right, wearing calathus; LI in lower right field. Milne 222, 25 mm, 13.4g
I love this Nero reverse as well -- I got very close to bidding on one from the Gasvoda collection in NAC's auction last year, but decided to focus on other coins in that auction. To my eye, the quality of the engraving in your top two coins is as well done as on Nero's sestertii, and if you hadn't mentioned they were asses, I would have assumed that they were sestertii. Very interesting coins accompanied by interesting additional history about Nero and his coins -- thanks, everyone, for responding!
