Livia Drusilla was born in 58 BC to Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus and his wife, Alfidia. At age sixteen Livia was married to her cousin, Tiberius Claudius Nero, and gave birth to two sons, the future emperor Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus, the general and father of the future emperor Claudius. However, as a member of a famous family, Livia was forced to divorce her husband in 39 BC and marry Octavian, the triumvir then rising to power in Rome, even though she was pregnant with her second son, Nero Claudius Drusus, and Octavian’s wife, Scribonia, was pregnant with their daughter, Julia. This marriage was arranged because it helped both families. It helped Octavian in that it lent the prestige of Livia’s ancient Claudian clan to his lesser patrician family. It helped Livia's Claudian-Nerones family because it ensured the amnesty and survival of her relatives who had earlier joined the assassins of Julius Caesar and fought against Octavian. The marriage lasted for 53 years and was supposedly a love match, but Livia bore no children to Octavian and so concentrated her motherly ambitions on her two sons by her first husband. In the politics of the Empire, Livia acted as a counselor and an adviser to Augustus, and helped to formulate his decisions. She was a powerful woman; according to Suetonius (The Twelve Caesars, Caligula, 23), Caligula, Livia’s great-grandson, called her "Ulysses in petticoats." The title Augustus, meaning "majestic; inspiring awe or reverence," was an honorific granted to Octavian by the Roman Senate in 27 BC, and it became his formal name and also an imperial title, meaning Emperor, for all the succeeding rulers of Rome. When Augustus died in AD 14, he willed the title of Augusta, the feminine form of Augustus, to Livia (Tacitus, The Annals, Book 1, 8, 2). The title Augusta thus became the equivalent of the word empress and thereafter was awarded by the emperors to a variety of their female relatives, including mothers, daughters, and aunts. Augustus’ will also provided for Livia to be formally adopted into the Julian gens (clan) and to be renamed as Julia. This coin was issued in AD 10/11 under Augustus: Livia, under Augustus, 27 BC - AD 13 Roman Æ diobol, 7.41 g, 24.2 mm, 1 h Egypt, Alexandria, 5th series, AD 10-11 Obv: bare head right with Nodus hairstyle Rev: Date (LM=40) within oak wreath Refs: BMC 16.4, 31; SGI 209; Emmett 57; c.f. RPC 5058 Notes: Lindgren sale 38, lot 110 Black basalt bust of Livia Drusilla, ca 31 BC, in the collection of the Louvre Numismatist Jasper Burns' reconstruction of Livia's appearance, based upon statuary and coin portraits. Notice she wears her hair in a front-roll, called the Nodus or Augustan style, then in vogue. Post whatever you feel is relevant!
My only coins with Livia. Livia (30 B.C. - 29 A.D) IONIA, Ephesos Grammateus Aristeas, magistrate Æ 16 O: Draped bust right. R: EFE ARCIEREYS ASKLAS EYFRWN, Stag standing right, quiver above. 3.8g 16mm RPC 2580 KINGS of THRACE, Sapaian. Rhoemetalces I, with Pythodoris, Augustus, and Livia (Late 1st century BC-AD) Æ 27 O: Heads of Augustus, laureate, and Livia, conjoined right; to right, capricorn right, holding globe. R: Diademed head of Rhoemetalces and draped bust of Pythodoris, conjoined right. 27mm 13.8g Youroukova 182-4, 186; RPC I 1708
I forgot this one from Colonia Romula, which is modern day Seville. You'll note that Livia bears the name Julia, reflecting her adoption into the Julian gens as stipulated in Augustus' will: Augustus and Livia, issued under Tiberius, AD 14-29 Roman provincial Æ 31 mm, 21.48 g Spain, Hispalis, Colonia Romula, AD 14-29 Obv: PERM DIVI AVG COL ROM, radiate head of Augustus right; thunderbolt before, star above Rev: IVLIA AVGVSTA GENETRIX ORBIS, head of Livia, left; globe beneath, crescent above Refs: RPC-73; SGI-189; Heiss 393, 2; Cohen 169, 3; Alvarez-Burgos 1587; Lindgren II 69; SNG Tubingen 118; SNG Copenhagen 423.13.35.
Thank you for the write up @Roman Collector , and nice coin. I have one from Alexandria also... RI Alexandria Livia, w Augustus Diobol CE 1-2 Æ 23.5mm 7.46g. Rev. Athena holding Nike Sheild ex Dattari-Savio Pl. 3 60 RPC pag. 692-5-this coin
Very informative write up Roman Collector, and nice coin. I have an As of Tiberius with Livia seated on reverse. Tiberius, Rome 15-16 AD, Ric 34.
