The Colossus of Nero

CNG 108, Lot: 578. Estimate $5000. Sold for $6500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nero. AD 54-68. AV Aureus (18mm, 7.29 g, 8h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64-65. NERO CAESAR, laureate head right / AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, Nero, radiate and togate, standing facing, holding branch in right hand and globe surmounted by Victory in left. RIC I 46; Calicó 402; BMCRE 56-9; BN 202-5; Biaggi 221. Good VF, toned. Attractive small bust.

Ex Künker 153 (14 March 2009), lot 8627.

The reverse depicts Nero’s Colossus, a roughly 120-foot tall bronze statue of the emperor as Sol that was created for the vestibule of the Domus Aurea, or Golden House, the massive palace constructed by Nero after the fire of AD 64. Its memory was retained in the popular name of the amphitheater that went up close to the colossus – the Colosseum.