Acquisition number: 1980.05
Other images
Obv.: Head of Nero, l., laureate. NERO CLAVD(ius) CAESAR AVG(ustus) GERMANIC(us)
Rev.: Nero, standing r., dressed as Apollo (citharoedus) in flowing robes and playing lyre. PONTIF(ex) MAX(imus) TR(ibunicia) P(otestate) IMP(erator) P(ater) P(atriae). In field, S(enatus) C(onsulto). In exergue, I (with bar above) mark of value for an as. ('S.C.' is not attested on Nero's bronze coinage before AD 63 or 64.)
Title: As of Nero - 1980.05
Acquisition number: 1980.05
Culture or period: Roman Imperial
Date: AD 64
Material: Metal - Bronze
Object type: Coins - Roman
Dimensions: 22mm (w)
Origin region or location: Italy
Origin city: Rome
Display case or on loan: 7
Keywords: Coin, as, Roman, Imperial, Nero, Apollo
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 1978; Mattingly, H., E.A. Sydenham, C.H. Sutherland, R.A. Carson, The Roman Imperial Coinage 13 vols (London, Spink, 1923-1994) 211; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) 256; Giard, J.-P., Catalogue des Monnaies de l’Empire Romain 3 vols (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1988-1998) [Rome, AD 64].
1980.05
As of Nero
6.28 g. AD 64
Obv.: Head of Nero, l., laureate. NERO CLAVD(ius) CAESAR AVG(ustus) GERMANIC(us)
Rev.: Nero, standing r., dressed as Apollo (citharoedus) in flowing robes and playing lyre. PONTIF(ex) MAX(imus) TR(ibunicia) P(otestate) IMP(erator) P(ater) P(atriae). In field, S(enatus) C(onsulto). In exergue, I (with bar above) mark of value for an as. ('S.C.' is not attested on Nero's bronze coinage before AD 63 or 64.
Nero’s obverse titles establish his Julio-Claudian connections, and thus the legitimacy of his position: (adoptive) son of Claudius, grandson of Germanicus (who was adoptive son of Tiberius, who was adoptive son of Augustus).
Nero’s musical ambitions and his performances as Apollo the Lyre-player (citharoedus) were notorious. (Cf. 2006.04 for Augustus and Apollo.) He first performed in public at Naples (a Greek city) in AD 64 (Tacitus, Annals 15.33). During the great fire at Rome later in AD 64, Dio (62.18) says that Nero marked the occasion by singing in the guise of Apollo. In AD 65 Nero performed in the theatre at Rome (Tacitus, Annals 16.4-5), and in September of AD 66 he began a long-planned visit to take part in games and competitions in Greece (Dio, Epitome 62.8), returning to Rome only when threats to his position became serious.
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 1978; Mattingly, H., E.A. Sydenham, C.H. Sutherland, R.A. Carson, The Roman Imperial Coinage 13 vols (London, Spink, 1923-1994) 211; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) 256; Giard, J.-P., Catalogue des Monnaies de l’Empire Romain 3 vols (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1988-1998) [Rome, AD 64].