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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Julius Germanicus, post: 3449627, member: 80783&quot;]Mattingly and Sydenham have commented that Nerva’s coin portraits are consistent in depicting his &quot;ungainly&quot; features without modification.</p><p>However, while many of his gold and silver issues may portray Nerva with grotesque features, this is not an accurate statement when we consider the bronze issues, which often present Nerva as nobly idealized, following in the Hellenistic tradition.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]916348[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>IMP NERVA CAES AVG PM TR P COS III P P&nbsp; - Laureate head of Nerva right /</p><p>FORTVNA AVGVST S C – Fortuna, wearing long dress and mantle, standing facing, head left, holding a rudder set on ground in right hand and a cornucopiae in left hand</p><p>Sestertius, Rome mint, 01.01.-18.09.97 a.D. (3rd emission of Nerva)</p><p>35 mm / 31,2 gr</p><p>RIC 83, Cohen 67, BMCRE 107, Sear -, Banti 21 (18 specimens)</p><p>From the collections of Fritz Reusing (1874-1956, acquired from Adolph Hess Nachf., Frankfurt, ca. 1930) and Paul Schürer (1890-1976), Manfred Olding fixed price list 96 (March 2019), Nr.200</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]916347[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>According to Roman beliefs, happiness and prosperity of the people were subject to the whims and fortune of the goddess Fortuna, which is why this not infrequently also found its place in the coinage of the emperors.</p><p><br /></p><p>FORTVNA AVGVST(I) depicts the familiar figure of fortune holding her usual attributes, a rudder and cornucopiaea. This type represents the result of the wisdom of the gods in that they have placed Nerva on the throne.</p><p>The rudder symbolizes Fortuna´s purposeful direction and guidance while the cornucopiae underscore the material blessings she and the emperor provide.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]916352[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The deployment of her image across the spectrum od denominations from Aurei down to Asses, her appearance in all emissions (except the very short fifth), and the high proportion of this type in the mint´s output suggest that the good luck flowing from Nerva´s principate to his subjects was an important message.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fortuna appears on half of Nerva´s Dupondii and one third of his Asses and Sestertii, making her the single most common image on all three base metal denominations (on his Denarii, she comes in second behind the CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM types).</p><p><br /></p><p>While according to OCRE the average weight of Nerva´s Sestertii is ca. 25 grams, this specimen weights a hefty 31.2, surpassing 99 % of all Sestertii struck.</p><p><br /></p><p>It´s former owner was the renowned German portrait painter and professor at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, Reinhard Friedrich („Fritz“) Reusing, who created many well-known oil portraits of&nbsp; important personalities of his time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a self portrait from 1929 and Reusing´s monumental painting of German Emperor Wilhelm II:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]916354[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Some time, probably in the 1920s or early 1930s, Reusing, who also was also a passionate collector of Roman Imperial&nbsp; portrait coins, acquired my coin from the Frankfurt auction house Adolph Hess Nachfolger, whose ticket came wiith it :</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]916346[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>When Reusing left no offspring, his coin collection was inherited by his nephew Paul Schürer, who extended his uncle´s collection with coins of the Roman Republic and late Antiquity. This great collection of coins that have not been on the market for generations was offered by German dealer Manfred Olding in his print-only March 2019 fixed price catalogue and at the Munich coin fare.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I heard about it, the most spectacular bronzes had been sold already, but I managed to get a hold of this big Nerva which I find is a worthy upgrade to both my nice but small Dupondius and my big bot very worn Sestertius of his.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please post your coins of the „13th Caesar“ and the heaviest Sestertii you have!</p><p><br /></p><p>... and maybe one of you has access to the 1920´s (or so) Adolph Hess catalogue that features my coin?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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