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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;savitale, post: 8447838, member: 95284&quot;]I have been slowly expanding my Roman emperor collection over the past year. Thought I would share my Nerva denarius.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1497304[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>CNG 118, Lot 1049. Nerva. AD 96-98. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.81 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 96. Laureate head right / Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopia. RIC II 1; RSC 3. Toned, underlying luster, shallow scratches. EF. Well struck, with an excellent portrait. From the Trevor Hadley Collection. Ex Spink Numismatic Circular CX.6 (December 2002), no. RM1110.</p><p><br /></p><p>Nerva (30 – 98 CE) joined the imperial ranks late in life when, at age 66, he was declared emperor by the Senate on the same day as the assassination of Domitian. The first of Gibbon’s “Five Good Emperors”, Nerva’s reign lasted only two years before he died of natural causes in 98. Nerva was born to the noble Cocceii family and served as political advisor and strategist to four emperors: Nero, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. He held no significant administrative or military position before being awarded a consulship in 71 by Vespasian. After that Nerva disappears from historical sources until he receives a second consulship from Domitian in 90. Six years later Domitian would be assassinated in a palace conspiracy and was immediately replaced by Nerva, possibly because the Senate, having witnessed the chaos brought about after Nero’s death a generation before, felt it was important to have a non-controversial emperor put in place quickly to restore stability.</p><p><br /></p><p>Without an apparent drive for imperial conquest or expansion of the empire, Nerva instead focused his efforts on internal matters including improving the condition of the people of Italy. Nerva enacted a number of measures to provide for the populous, including a generous donative to the army, a gift of 75 denarii to all citizens, donations to the poor, and tax relief for the provinces. His benevolent nature ultimately would lead to a dissatisfactory sate of affairs as his reluctance to assert authority led to chaotic governance. Unhappy with Nerva’s weak policies, the Praetorian Guard laid siege to the imperial palace and took Nerva hostage, forcing him to agree to their demands. Realizing his position was extremely tenuous, he appointed Trajan, a figure popular with the military, as his heir. On January 1, 98 Nerva suffered a stroke and 26 days later he died. Nerva was deified by the Senate, and a temple to Nerva was constructed by Trajan.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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