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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 8290673, member: 83956&quot;]So this coin holds the record for the coin I have waited for the longest. The Spanish auction where I won it closed December 19th; I only received this coin today. After some paperwork problems and a carrier switch, it finally made its way to my doorstep. It was originally sent Federal Express but arrived UPS (!?). I guess FedEx got the FEDERAL part right but the EXPRESS part still needs work. (I documented my woes here: <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fedex-%E2%80%9Cunable-to-complete-delivery%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D.393439/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fedex-%E2%80%9Cunable-to-complete-delivery%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D.393439/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fedex-“unable-to-complete-delivery…”.393439/</a> )</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1465443[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m very happy with the coin. The strike is strong for the grade, though the patina is uneven, compromising its eye appeal. Still, I think this coin is a lot more scarce than it&#039;s thought to be. For every 25 SPQR Flying Victory reverses, I might see 1 of these. But that’s completely anecdotal.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse is conventionally thought to be Nero in the guise of Apollo playing the lyre, though to me the graceful figure on the reverse does not seem to have the same physique as the fleshly figure of the obverse. The traditional identification comes ultimately from the ancient Roman historian Suetonius.</p><p><br /></p><p>In his LIFE OF NERO, Suetonius describes a Neronian procession through Rome, ultimately referencing the coin: “[T]hrough the arch of the Circus Maximus…he made his way across the Velabrum and the Forum to the Palatine and the temple of Apollo. All along the route victims were slain, the streets were sprinkled from time to time with perfume, while birds, ribbons, and sweetmeats were showered upon him. He placed the sacred crowns in his bed-chambers around the couches, as well as statues representing him in the guise of a lyre-player; and he had a coin too struck with the same device.” [NERO §25]</p><p><br /></p><p>Rarely does an ancient source mention a specific coin design, but this one seems to qualify. I do, however, wonder if we have uncritically accepted Suetonius’s identification. That reverse figure does <i>not</i> look like Nero. Maybe the graceful figure is a projection of who Nero would like to be, and verisimilitude is not the point.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why the selfie? If the reverse is a kind of self-portrait of Nero as Apollo, a selfie seemed in order. And maybe, despite the thinning hair, I was just feeling pretty.</p><p><br /></p><p>So post whatever you like: some more <i>Nerones</i>, or a long-awaited treasure, or maybe even a coin selfie.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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