Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 8299023, member: 42773&quot;]Nerva was unpopular with the army, which is a fatal condition if you&#039;re a Roman emperor, so he adopted the very popular general Trajan as his son and successor, thus initiating the era of &quot;Adoptive Emperors.&quot; When Nerva died unexpectedly in January of 98, Trajan was governor of <i>Germania Superior</i>. Rather than hasten to Rome, he made a lengthy survey of the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Perhaps he was unsure of his position in Rome and sought to strengthen the allegiance of the military.</p><p><br /></p><p>Whatever the reason, the earliest issues of Trajan, struck in 98 through the early part of 99, present us with busts which are neither Nerva nor Trajan. At the moment, I have three coins in my trays that illustrate the point very nicely. The first is Nerva of course, and the second is a dupondius struck in 98-99. It&#039;s clear that the celators were instructed to retain the facial features of Nerva, but to broaden the width of the profile. Thus, the earliest busts of Trajan exhibit the aquiline nose, downturned lips, and fierce scowl of his adoptive father...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1468002[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Was this simply because Trajan had not yet given the artists at the Rome mint a proper &quot;sitting,&quot; or was it a political gesture reassuring the Roman people that Trajan was Nerva&#039;s choice as heir? The third coin presents us with the broad skull, pronounced jawline, straight nose, and benevolent expression that is so familiar to those of us that have collected his later issues.</p><p><br /></p><p>Do you have any hybrid Nerva/Trajan busts from AD 98-99?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in