|
HOME :
Roman Coins :
Roman Gold Coins : Gold Aureus of Emperor Nero
|
 |
|
|
|
Gold Aureus of Emperor Nero - C.4079
Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: 54
AD
to 68
AD
Collection: Numismatics
Style: Roman
Medium: Gold
$7,800.00
Location: United States
|
|
|
| Photo Gallery |
|
|
| Description |
Obverse: NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS; Portrait of
the Emperor Crowned in a Laurel Wreath
Reverse: AVGVSTVS AVGVSTA; Radiate Nero
Standing on the Left, Holding a Patera and a
Sceptre, Poppaea Standing Next to Him on the
Right, Holding a Patera and a Cornacopiae
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was born at
Antium in 37 A.D., the son of Cnaeus Domitius
Ahenobarbus and Agrippina Junior. He became
Caesar in 50 A.D., and Augustus from 54 A.D.
Perhaps no emperor evokes the image of Rome’s
grandeur and decadence better than Nero. Much
maligned by later historians, Nero was in fact a
complex and talented individual, as full of whims
and contradictions as any human being. Though
he sat on the throne of Rome, his dearest
ambition was to be a stage actor. He neither
started the fire that destroyed half of Rome in 64
A.D., nor fiddled as it burned, although this is
the impression that has survived through the
ages, thanks to the rumors spread by his
enemies. He used this opportunity to begin one
of the most outrageous building projects Rome
has ever known, the Domus Aurea, or “Golden
House of Nero.” Once standing on the present
site of the Coliseum, work on this monumental
complex, apparently covered in gold, silver, and
precious jewels, was halted upon his death in 68
A.D. While Nero was not free from faults by any
means, he clearly was not the corrupt villain
history has painted him to be.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. Today, this coin is an ancient
memorial to an emperor passed from the hands
of civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation.
- (C.4079)
|
| |
|
