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Nero. AD 54-68. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.22 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64-65. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head right / ROMA in exergue, Roma, helmeted and draped, seated left on cuirass, right foot resting on helmet, holding Victory in right had and resting left hand on parazonium at side; round and oblong shield and greave to right. RIC I 54; WCN 27; Calicó 439a; BMCRE 81-2; BN 222-3. NGC Photo Certificate graded Ch AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, light marks, Fine Style.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 46 (2 April 2008), lot 513; Numismatica Ars Classica 5 (25 February 1992), lot 421.
Unbelievable detail on both the obverse and reverse. I would frequently view this coin with a loupe just to enjoy the fabulous engraving and strike. (PLZ)
There is no more divisive figure during the period of the twelve Caesars than Nero. It is only through his mother, Agrippina (the younger), that Nero came to power at all. It is widely reported that she poisoned Claudius before he could elevate his son, Britannicus, born from third wife Valeria Messalina. Britannicus was still young at 13 years of age when Claudius was murdered. Agrippina had spent the previous year convincing Claudius to replace the two prefects of the Praetorian Guard with someone who would support Nero as the heir when the time came.
Nero, himself, just 16 years of age when he rose to the throne, was early on influenced by his mother who sought to rule through him. He quickly tired of this arrangement, only to see Agrippina side with Britannicus. As a result, Britannicus was poisoned and eliminated as a threat. The relationship with Nero and Agrippina would continue to diminish until, in 59 AD, he contrived her rather messy execution.
The life and rule of Nero are complicated by conflicting accounts of his reign. His early years, when affairs of state were largely administered by his advisors Seneca and Burrus, are widely admired. His later years, particularly after the removal of Agrippina, are generally regarded as a litany of horrors. The question remains if his popular perception as a capricious tyrant is correct, or just propaganda by his detractors to raise enough doubt that his own “removal” would be met with little resistance. So much happened during Nero’s later years that conclusions are hard to draw for the modern historian. Did he turn to music and public “frolicking”? Almost assuredly. Did he act appropriately after the great fire of Rome in AD 64? The answer here is more complicated. Nero certainly provided much-needed relief to the people of Rome during and after the fire. But when rumors began to circulate that he was the “incendiary” who started it in the first place, he blamed the convenient new Christian religion and its followers. Tacitus, who is kind in reporting on Nero and his lack of involvement in causing the great fire, turns an about-face when discussing how Nero relished in the persecution of the Christians. No matter how involved Nero was in rebuilding Rome, it certainly did not help that he used the newly cleared land to build his Domus Aurea and the Colossus statue of himself.
The efforts to rebuild Rome came at great expense, both to the provinces through higher taxation, and by devaluing currency. This would eventually lead to a revolt by Gaius Julius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, who turned to Servius Sulpicius Galba, then governor of Hispania Tarraconensis. The end would come soon, and the reign of Nero would be no more. His last words, reportedly “what a great artist the world had lost in me,” are a suitable epitaph for his tragicomic reign.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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