My complete 12 Caesars set

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Only a Poor Old Man, Aug 1, 2021.

  1. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    Here it is in all its glory! :bucktooth:

    nero1.jpg

    Some people spend a lifetime to get these, and I got it complete and shiny for only £12.99 :angelic: I don't see what the fuss is about! :joyful::joyful::joyful:

    Joking aside, this is from the British Museum's souvenir shop, and the real reason behind this thread is to give you a mini review and a glimpse of a really nice Nero exhibition that the museum is currently holding. Photography was allowed, so I took plenty and I will share some with you.

    My interest in ancients started after my last visit to that museum, when I walked into the Coin Craft shop across the street. Returning to the museum, brought back some nice memories. As we are living in Covid times, attendance is not what it used to be and as I visited in the morning the museum looked and felt rather empty.

    nero2.jpg

    nero3.jpg

    It was a very well done exhibition. Very modern set up and interesting. The main theme was for the visitors to decide for themselves if Nero was as bad as the contemporary writers make him up to be.

    nero4.jpg

    nero5.jpg
    Nero as a child.

    nero6.jpg

    What I felt though, is that the exhibition may have been designed by a Nero fanboy. Although the visitors are being constantly asked to make up their own minds, I thought that the narrative emphasized a lot on Nero's positive aspects and events like the fire, the persecutions and the death's of Poppaea and Agrippina weren't discussed to the level I would have liked. Overall though, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a visit if you are based around London or planning to visit soon.

    And of course, this exhibition aside, the British Museum is of great interest to the numismatist in general. I walked around the main rooms after I finished and was not disappointed.

    nero16.jpg

    And as a bonus, when I walked out I discovered that there was a Roman corner with gladiatorial demonstrations and various show n'tell sessions.

    nero17.jpg

    The Nero exhibition was very interesting from a numismatic point of view with some great examples. In my next post I will share some highlights.
     
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  3. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    Here are some coin exhibits form the Nero exhibition. There was even some Parthian coinage to demonstrate Nero's wars with Parthia.

    nero7.jpg

    nero8.jpg

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    nero11.jpg

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    nero14.jpg

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    The book guide was also very interesting, very thick, and with hundreds illustrations. I expect that you can probably buy it from the museum's website.
     
  4. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    What a great day at the museum! Thanks for taking and sharing the photos, @Only a Poor Old Man!
     
  5. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    That looks like a fun day at the museum. Thanks for sharing the photo's.

    Here's my Nero coin, with the Janus temple reverse.
    8.5.png
     
  6. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the write up and the pics @Only a Poor Old Man

    some pay thousands of dollars for the Nero Ostia sestertius,
    Heres an old Museum copy for 8 euro o_O

    P1180231b.jpg
     
  7. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Great 12 set indeed !

    Q
     
    Only a Poor Old Man and ominus1 like this.
  8. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the tour!
    I spent many a weekend wandering through the British Museum when I lived in London almost 20 years ago.
     
  9. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Nice tour and write-up. Looks like they have quite a few aurei lying around.
     
    Only a Poor Old Man likes this.
  10. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    Thank you @Only a Poor Old Man for the pictures of the exhibit. I've been following it virtually on the BM's Youtube channel ... nice to hear it's as good as it appears.
     
  11. Mammothtooth

    Mammothtooth Stand up Philosopher, Vodka Taster

    I see an over weight Gladiator that could never be in a Spartacus movie…….
     
    Lueds likes this.
  12. Mammothtooth

    Mammothtooth Stand up Philosopher, Vodka Taster

    The guy with no shirt on is an embarrassment to the Gladiator Union 101…..
     
    DonnaML likes this.
  13. Theoderic

    Theoderic Active Member

    Nice write-up and photos. I would probably stand glassy-eyed in front of that case with the pile of aureii until a security guard made me move. The latest issue of Minerva magazine also has a review of the exhibition.
    nero-cover.jpg
     
  14. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..a fine 12 Caesar set and what a great day at the Museum!..thanks for sharing OAPOM! :)...and i don't have 'the 12 Caesars either...ive got 'the 11 emperors' :p
     
    Only a Poor Old Man likes this.
  15. svessien

    svessien Senior Member

    I wish I could see that exhibition. Thanks for showing us some of it, Old Man:)
    Hopefully it will inspire you to build a real 12 Caesars set! I am an aureus and a semis short of a Nero type set. Bought a budget sestertius in May, here it is:



    Nero sest Janus.jpg

    Quadrans:
    Nero quad.jpg

    Dupondius:
    Nero dup.jpg

    As:
    Sear 1973 Nero as.jpg

    Denarius:
    Sear 1945 Nero.jpg
     
  16. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    Pshhhh those noobs forgot to send all those gold aureii into NGC for grading! xD

    In all seriously though great photos! Looks like a fun and interesting exhibit.

    If I lived nearby I would definitely check it out.
     
  17. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Wow, what a great outing. I’m glad nobody got twitchy about your photography. I’ve been in a museum where they were.
     
  18. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Where does one buy those high rise coin holders?
     
  19. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    They had a big sign saying 'Photography allowed'. I also checked with a member of stuff to make sure. I think that many museums nowadays realise the importance of social media and are actively seeking 'word of mouth' exposure to attract visitors. As @David Atherton mentioned there is also a nice video form them on Youtube giving a small tour of the exhibition. Many photos can also be found across twitter and on reviews from various blog and news websites.

    Funnily enough that's the first thing I thought when I saw them. Having said that, many coins were still well behind glass in low display cases, so I had to make a bit of an effort to make out the details. I wish that one day somebody invents a way to display a coin by suspending it in the air and have it rotate slowly at eye level.
     
    ominus1 and lordmarcovan like this.
  20. Heliodromus

    Heliodromus Well-Known Member

    There's an interesting brief Twitter thread here on the find circumstances of that Nero head on the cover.

    https://threader.app/thread/1419991086118932483
     
    Theoderic, Bob the Baker and mikebell like this.
  21. savitale

    savitale Well-Known Member

    I'm jealous as all get out. Looks like a very cool exhibit!
     
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