Interested in what people think of this Nerva Denarius with Fortuna Reverse. Most Nerva Denarii I've seen feature the emperor as a scowling old man with a hook nose. This coin, in contrast, portrays him as younger and less witch-like. What do y'all think?
It's not only the nose; I think you're right that the portrait looks younger overall than most Nervas. (Not that Nerva was really quite as old as he usually looks; he was in his 60s.) The engraver must have taken this one to a good cosmetic surgeon.
Thanks for the nice close-up picture. Cool coin. Nerva is one of my favorite portraits. His, along with Titus', simply speak 'Roman Emperor' to me. Perhaps it's the aquiline schnozz reminiscent of the Apennines that form the spine of the Italian peninsula. Who might be a good actor to portray Nerva in film? I'd go with Brody.
Nice OP. Excellent strike and still in great condition. I, too, have a young looking Nerva, in this case doing his Sam Waterson impression. I'd say he looks about 35 on this coin: Bronze As Rome mint, A.D. 97 Obv: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS III P P Rev: AEQVITAS AVGVST - Aquitas, standing, facing left, holding scales and cornucopiae, between S and C RIC 77 26x23mm, 11.4g.
NERVA AE Dupondius OBVERSE: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS II P P Radiate head right REVERSE: FORTVNA AVGVST S-C, Fortuna standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia Struck at Rome, 96AD 8.8g, 26mm RIC 61
I'm sure it takes a while to get used to cutting a new face. Overheard at the mint: "He can't possibly have THAT big a nose, can he?"
Lovely coin, and interesting portrait. The portrait on your coin with the 'less hooked nose' seems to be appear on other coins too, see e.g. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=888477 and https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=127991 Perhaps a portrait used based on an older image? Here's my denarius (libertas), with the characteristic nose:
