As of Nerva - 1968.05

Acquisition number: 1968.05

Other images

Rev.: A pair of clasped hands

Obv.: Head of Nerva r., laureate. IMP(erator) NERVA CAES(ar) AVG(ustus) P(ontifex) M(aximus) TR(ibunicia) P(otestate) CO(n)S(ul) III P(ater) P(atriae).

Rev.: Pair of clasped hands. CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM. In exergue, S(enatus) C(onsulto).

Title: As of Nerva - 1968.05

Acquisition number: 1968.05

Author or editor: Beryl Rawson

Culture or period: Roman Imperial

Date: AD 97

Material: Metal - Bronze

Object type: Coins - Roman

Dimensions: 26mm (w)

Origin region or location: Italy

Origin city: Rome

Display case or on loan: 7

Keywords: Coin, as, Roman, Imperial, Nerva

Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 3061; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) 141.

1968.05

As of Nerva

8.067 g. AD 97

Obv.: Head of Nerva r., laureate. IMP(erator) NERVA CAES(ar) AVG(ustus) P(ontifex) M(aximus) TR(ibunicia) P(otestate) CO(n)S(ul) III P(ater) P(atriae).

Rev.: Pair of clasped hands. CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM. In exergue, S(enatus) C(onsulto).

When Nerva became emperor in AD 96 he was an elderly senator with no military reputation. This, and army resentment at the murder of Domitian, made Nerva’s relations with the armies difficult. He won their allegiance by adopting as his heir the commander in Upper Germany, Trajan. This coin pre-dates that adoption. (Nerva’s tribunician power was renewed for the second time in September of AD 97; the adoption took place a month later.) The reverse legend, ‘Harmony in the armies’, thus advertises a hope rather than a reality in AD 96 and 97.

This portrait of Nerva, with its realistic treatment of hooked nose and long, thin neck, is typical of much of Nerva’s coinage. But see Breglia 116/121.

Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 3061; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) 141.