July was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. In 8 BC, August was renamed in honor of Augustus. He choose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt. When the senate offered the emperor Tiberius to name the month of November (he is born the 16th of this month) in his honor, he refused and replied:What will you do if you have 13 Caesars ? ( Dion Cassius LVII, 18 ) The man that no one, not even himself, wanted as emperor I feel pity for the poor guy. Why? Here is a brief recap of his life : At a very young age, he had to run away with his family who took the side of Marc Anthony against Octavian. At the age of 9 , his father died and he had to pronounce the laudatio funebris. That’s not all; nobody wants him to be Emperor. Or let’s say that he wasn’t the first choice of Augustus... For a few years, Augustus hoped to have for heir his son-in-law Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the son of his sister Octavie.Later came the Drusus brothers, favorite of the great ruler. His 2 grandsons, Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar were supposed to succeed him. He was also forced to divorce his beloved pregnant wife at Augustus’ orders...His new wife Julia (who had several lovers) was later sent in exile and finally met her death by starvation. Her mother tried for years to control his destiny. He also had to exile himself voluntarily on the island of Rhodes. When finally Augustus died, the Senate began to pray Tiberius to assume the role and title of his father, and thus govern the Roman empire. He first refused (was his modesty really sincere ?) and eventually agreed to wear the purple. Even in the first years of his reign, he was living in the shadow of the popularity of his adoptive son Germanicus..In the last 10 years of his reign, Tiberius grew more paranoid and imposed an ever increasing number of treason trials. He became more reclusive, remaining on Capri where in 37 CE he died at the age of 77. The historians Suetonius and Tacitus gave disgusting details about his numerous alleged debaucheries while he was in Capri. What a life my friends! Like him or not, wonderful coins were struck during the time of his life. So please show us your Tiberius coins ! Mine :
RIC Vol. I, TIBERIUS, As, Rome, No. 44 (AD 21-22) Obverse: Tiberius, bare headed, facing left Inscription clockwise from bottom: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VIII Reverse: centered S C Inscription clockwise from top: PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN POTEST XXIIII
Suetonius would have an answer. This rudder on globe as is almost my favorite coin of Tiberius. It is a bit off centered making the TR POT XXXVII hard to read but the coin I want is this type dated one year later when the 38th TRP was engraved XXXIIX. I consider the double subtractive numeral cool. I admit I amuse easily.
TIBERIUS, SESTERTIUS, RIC, Vol. I, Rome, No. 68, AD 36-37 (35mm, 22.6gm) Cataloged in Wildwinds under Augustus - Sear 1784 Cataloged in BMCRE under Tiberius - No. 126 Obverse depiction: Augustus, radiate, togate, holding laurel branch in r. hand and long sceptre in l., seated on throne, placed on a car, drawn l. by four elephants, each bearing a mahout on its neck. The side of the car is ornamented with shields. Inscription across top in three lines DIVO AVGVSTO SPQR Reverse depiction: Large, centered S C Inscription clockwise from top: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST PM TR POT XXXIIX
Cool coins, and nice history. Thanks, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix . TIBERIUS RI Tiberius AE As 14-37 CE Laureate-Pont Max Globe Rudder RIC I 58
I've always felt a little bad for Tiberius too. He may not have had the most winning personality, but it seems he spent much of his life cast aside, made use of, disliked, feared, and forced to do things he didn't want. What a life for poor ol' Tiberius, indeed! TIBERIUS AR Denarius. 3.74g, 18.6mm. Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, circa AD 18-35 (Group 4). RIC 30; Lyon 150. O: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right; one ribbon on shoulder. R: PONTIF MAXIM, Livia (as Pax) seated right on chair with ornate legs, holding sceptre and olive branch; feet on footstool; single line below.
Nice write up and interesting coins! I only have 2 Tiberius at this moment. AR Denarius. AE As. RIC I Tiberius 82. Rome Mint. 34-37 AD. Obverse: DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER. Head of Augustus, radiate, left. Reverse: SC. Eagle standing on globe, open wings, head turned right. I like the cool-looking Roman eagle.
Very nice write up of an often overlooked emperor. He may have been a very dour character, but he was a good , competent general. here are several of Tiberius' issues, including AS of Drusus.
Maybe he had not a winning personality and was badly characterized by ancient authors; however, being the successor of Augustus must not have been an easy task. He was emperor for 23 years and strengthened the empire. Quite an accomplishment. Æ As, Rome, 15 - 16 AD 27 mm, 10.63 g RIC 33, Cohen 17; Ob.: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VII Tiberius head, bare, right Rev.: PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN POTEST XVII Livia seated right between large S C holding patera and scepter
Tiberius & Drusus ( 14 - 37 A.D.) AR Drachm CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea-Eusebia O: [TI C]AES AVG PM TRP XXXV, Laureate head of Tiberius right. R: DRVSVS CAES TI] AVG F COS II R P, Head of Drusus left. Caesarea in Cappadocia mint 33- 34 A.D. 3.47g 19mm RIC I 87; RPC I 3622. Syd 46 Tiberius (14 - 34 A.D.) AR Tetradrachm EGYPT, Alexandria O: [TI]BERIOS KAISAR SEBASTOS, laureate head of Tiberius right; LID (date) in right field. R: QEOS SEBASTOS, radiate head of Augustus left. EGYPT, Alexandria Mint, year 14=27/28 A.D. 13.43g 23mm RPC I 5090; Milne 54; Emmett 61
Here is one from Tiberius that took me a long time to attribute - they are fairly scarce, but oddly enough, Wikipedia provided some info on the unusual obverse inscription. Tiberius Æ Semis L. Licinius, Duovir Paestum-Poseidonia, Lucania (c. 14-37 A.D.) [P]-S -C across fields, laureate head right / [L] LICINI(VS) II[VIR], Victory walking right, holding wreath and palm branch. RPC 613; Crawford 6; SNG Cop 1386. (var. rev. leg.) (3.81 grams / 14 mm) "The coins of Paestum begin about 550 BC... Issues continue until the reign of Tiberius. For unknown reasons Paestum alone of all the smaller Italian mints, was allowed to continue minting bronze coins by a Senatorial decree of about 89 BC, after this had been centralized. Later coins carry "P. S. S. C.", standing for "Paesti Signatum Senatus Consulto" to reflect this." Wikipedia
I found another one - my Tiberius collection is very ugly. But again this is kind of interesting - it features Livia his mother as well as Tiberius. Tiberius & Livia Æ 18 Sardes, Lydia (c. 17-37 A.D.) ΣEBAΣTOΣ KAIΣAΡEΩN ΣAΡΔIANΩN, Tiberius, togate, standing left, Tyche kneeling r. / ΣEBAΣTH IOYΛIOΣ KΛEΩN KAI MEMNΩN, Livia as Ceres seated right, with sceptre & grain. RPC 2991; SNG Cop. 515. (4.61 grams / 18 x 16 mm) Note: Commemorating the financial assistance to Sardes after the earthquake of 17 A.D. Victor Clark figured this one out for me (thanks, Victor!): https://www.cointalk.com/threads/utterly-stumped-greek-roman-provincial.326675/#post-3231177
Nice write-up, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix , and interesting coins, everyone! Here is my standard denarius of this rather unwilling emperor. Nothing special. I refuse to call it a "tribute penny:" Tiberius, Roman Empire, denarius, 15–18 AD, Lyon mint. Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate portrait right. Rev: PONTIF MA[XIM], Livia as Pax seated right on chair with ornately decorated legs, holding sceptre (or spear) and branch. 18mm, 2.8g. Ref: RIC I Tiberius 28; Giard: Le monnayage de l'atelier de Lyon 1 (1983), group 2, 146.
Tiberius! My avatar coin: Tiberius, AD 14-37. Roman AR Denarius, 3.87 g, 18.5 mm, 5 h. Lugdunum, AD 16-37. Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head, right. Rev: PONTIF MAXIM, Female figure seated right, holding long olive branch and inverted spear; legs of chair ornate, triple line below. Refs: RIC 28; BMCRE 42-44; RSC 16b; RCV 1763 var. Notes: The identity of the female figure on the reverse is uncertain and has been variously identified as Livia, Justitia or Pax.
