The Colossus of Nero

257, Lot: 359. Estimate $200. Sold for $320. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nero. AD 54-68. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.36 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 64-65. Laureate head right / Nero standing facing, radiate and togate, holding Victory and laurel branch. RIC I 47; RSC 45. Near VF, a few marks.

From the Sierra Collection.

The reverse depicts the Colossus, a 120 foot tall bronze statue of Nero as Sol that was created by Zenodorus for the vestibule of the Domus Aurea, or Golden House, the massive palace constructed by Nero after the fire of 64 AD. The statue was destroyed after Nero's downfall in 68, but its memory was retained in the popular name of the amphitheater constructed by the Flavians at the same site-the Colosseum.