A New Sestertius of Nero

I won this in the CNG auction that ended today. To me (your opinion may vary) if you wanted one single coin to represent the Roman Empire you would want a Sestertius of Nero. They were large, their size gave the engravers room to showcase their talents in a way that smaller coins did not and how can you not just be impressed by a big hunk of bronze from one of the most evil rulers in history?

When I post these things I usually give a brief history of the emperor and his time, but I think most of us know at least some details from Nero's life. He became Emperor inn AD 54 when his mother murdered his step father Claudius Caesar, he murdered his step brother Britannicus because "A second Caesar is a Caesar too many." He went on to kill his mother in AD 59, all of this killing before his real reign or terror began around AD 64-65. In the end he was declared a public enemy by the Senate and fled, taking his own life in a shameful manner in AD 68.

This coin is a bronze Sestertius struck at the Lugdunum mint in AD 65. It is a whopping 36mm in diameter with a weight of 26g. Because of its size I can't help wondering it it might have been issued as a presentation piece of some kind? The reverse shows the emperor on horseback with a soldier behind him. The legend "DECVRSIO" on the reverse is a reference to a mounted military advance, but according to Seth Stevenson in his 1889 "Dictionary of Roman Coins" may have been issued to mark Nero's establishment of cavalry drills amongst the Pretorians.

 

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Love it. Great portrait which makes up for the wear/weak strike on the reverse. Congrats.

My best Nero is a provincial

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

 

Great coin! Man, that's exactly the sort of coin some less-than-scrupulous dealers would love to "improve" with tooling. I'm happy to see it unaltered - guard it well!

 

LOVELY!

 

Nice one! Interesting reverse type and a classic portrait.

 

That is a nice example of a Nero sestertius, with a good portrait and even patina. Nice addition to any collection!

I agree that that a Nero sestertius is a good example as any to represent the Roman Empire, depending on your preference. My preference, if I had to chose, would probably be for a Trajan or Hadrian bronze.

I have two of the same type for Nero, one facing left, the other facing right.

Nero Æ Sestertius. Lugdunum, AD 66.
OBV: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG PONT MAX T R POT P P, laureate head right
Rev: Nero on horseback to right, holding spear; behind him, soldier on horseback right, holding vexillum; S-C across field, DECVRSIO in emerge.
RIC 508.

Notice how 'chubby' and compact romans depicted their horses. This is I believe due to the fact that roman horses were in fact smaller than their current cousins.

 

That's a wonderful example @Aethelred !!!

The portrait and centering MORE than compensate for the wear/strike on that otherwise super cool reverse...and I LOVE the size and patina!!

In fact, I was about to go after it myself

Terrific posts guys!! I still need a sestertius (and another denarius LOL) to go along with the other denominations I've managed to purchase.

 

Congrats. I had my eye on that one and many others, but I completely forgot the entire auction!! Argh!

 

Great design on the reverse , combined with great portraits

Won this Nero in the CNG auction of September.

 

I agree, I would not go so (quite) far as to say Imperials are all about the obverse, but a bad obverse is a deal breaker for me on all but the most rare coins.

 

It will go straight into my collection as it is and remain so at least until I'm dead.

 

I believe I had read that somewhere long ago, but completely forgot about it until you posted this. What an interesting bit of trivia.

 

I take that as the highest praise for my choice, thank you guys!

The bid I placed was not really an "in it to win it" bid. Sometimes I just look at the CNG auctions on the last day to see if anything is going too cheap. I thought this one was so I put in a bid that, although much higher than the winning bid, I was sure couldn't win such a nice coin. Even in the last minute I was sure I'd be outbid, but nobody came along to even push it near my modest max bid. I'm still shocked that I won such a nice example for so little money.

 

I really love that reverse type for a Nero, how fitting!

 

Think of that poor horse, holding up that weight.
Nice OP.
Honestly a Sestertius wasnt on my radar. But these are nice looking examples.

 

Very nice Nero Sestertius @Aethelred !

I have a few, but these are my better Neros... And they are Tets

RI Nero AR Tetradrachm 54-68 CE Eagle Obv-Rev.jpg


RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64AD Milne 217 RPC 5275 O-R.jpg

 

Love the Antioch Tetradrachms, that is a classic type!

 

Aethelred => not sure if I've said "welcome" or not? ... but "welcome"

Awesome OP-Nero ... sure, I love the obverse, but I really love the cool double-horse reverse!! (I'm totally jealous of that sweet coin)

Sadly, I still only have one Nero example (but I fricken love this coin, so perhaps that's why I haven't chased any others?) ...




... congrats again on scoring that great OP example!!

 

Thank you Steve, it is both a pleasure and an honor the be amongst such august ancient collectors as those that I find here. I am sure I will receive much pleasure and knowledge from this board and hope to contribute something useful as well.

 

One more example of a Nero sestertius for Aethelred's thread.

The 'Roma Seated' type is another favorite type among collectors.
My own example is a little rough, but can be 'forgiven'.

Nero augustus, 54 – 68
Sestertius, Lugdunum circa 66.
Obv: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG PONT MAX TR POT P P Laureate head l., with globe at point of bust.
Rev: S – C Roma seated l. on cuirass, holding Victory and parazonium ; behind her, two shields. In exergue, ROMA.
RIC 517