Coinage Overview

 

Nero’s coinage is noteworthy for its innovation and artistic achievements; his coinage can be divided into three distinct periods based upon the style of the portrait, the reverse types employed and the weight of the coins.  The first period occurred from March 51 until October 54 when Nero was Claudius’s heir. He is depicted as a youth of thirteen, bareheaded and togate.  The second period covers the first nine years of Nero’s reign (from October 54 to 63).  Nero is now shown as a young man of seventeen, bare headed and without a toga.  This is an unremarkable period in Nero’s coinage characterized by conventional reverse types, such as the civic crown, figures of Virtus, Ceres and Roma and dynastic issues. The one innovation is that precious metal coins (except quinarii) bear the formula EX SC on the reverse, indicating they were issued under the authority of the Senate.   The final phase of Nero’s coinage ran from 63 until 68, and was a remarkable period in Roman imperial coinage.  His portrait is brutally realistic with a thick neck and chin; his hair is arranged in rows or steps of curls, grown long against the back of the neck in the style of a charioteer, and there is a touch of Hellenistic portraiture in the tilt of the head.  Nero is occasionally shown with a closely cropped beard.  The EX SC formula disappears from gold and silver coins and for the first time since the reign of Claudius aes are struck.  

 

Nero’s reign saw a gradual decline in the weight of precious metal coins. During the reign of Augustus, the weight of the aureus ranged from 8.0 to 7.70 grams and at the start of Nero’s reign had declined to 7.70 to 7.60 grams.  The denarius had a similar decline from the Augustan 4.0 to 3.60 grams to 3.65 to 3.55 under Nero.  Around 64, Nero carried out a coinage reform that further reduced precious metal coinage.  The aureus fell to between 7.40 to 7.25 grams and the denarius to 3.50 to 3.20 grams.  Explanations for the devaluation have suggested that Nero was attempting to create a uniform coinage standard or he was attempting to stop the flow of silver from the East. But the best explanation is that the vast building program undertaken after the Great Fire caused the devaluation to balance income and expenditure.

 

 

                                                           

AES Coinage

 

There are six distinct phases of aes issued under Nero. The reverse types are of such high artistic achievement, designed for eye appeal and concerned with subjects close to Nero (like his building projects), that he probably selected them. Evidence for his involvement is supplied by Suetonius, who mentions that after Nero returned from his tour of Greece he had a coin struck depicting himself dressed as a lyre player (Nero 25.3).

 

Issue 1, struck around 62-63, saw the initial issues of copper asses, semisses and quadrantes, all struck without SC. This new asses had two reverse types: Apollo (Nero laureate in the guise of Apollo Citharoedius) and Genius (Genius standing by a lighted altar). Both types are artistically striking, particularly when compared to the bland aes struck by Nero’s predecessors. The portrait of Nero appears modeled upon the gold and silver coins dated to 61/63 (TRP VIII and VIIII) where the hairstyle is arranged from Nero’s forehead in fringed curls. 

Issue 2, struck during 63-64, marked a significant change in aes coinage. Toward the middle of the first century CE the Romans began to make orichalcum (brass) by heating copper with zinc (calamine) that was mined in Spain and Cyprus.  Pliny mentions that the mineral was discovered in large quantities in Germany (NH 34.2.2).  Now, after some initial issues in brass and copper, all token coinage was struck using orichalcum that gave aes a uniform color and texture.  Nero may have gotten the idea to use brass from Corinth, which had issued its token coins in the metal.  Also, the idea of having all his aes in the same color probably would have appealed to Nero.  New reverse types were introduced for sestertii (among them an Adlocutio and Congiarum type, one to Annona to show Nero’s concern over the corn supply and the Decursio type (Nero mounted on a prancing horse with foot soldiers)) and dupondii (the Macellum (without a legend), Securitas and Victoria). None of these coins carried SC, and Nero is sometimes depicted wearing the aegis. 

Issue 3 was struck closely following issue 2 and marked the reappearance of SC on all denominations of aes, along with a mark of value on dupondii, (a “II” mark in the exergue) asses (a “I” mark), semisses (marked with an “S”) and quadrantes (a pattern of three dots).  Edward Sydenham doubted that these marks actually denoted value since, as he pointed out, Romans had been telling the difference between the bras dupondius and copper as for fifty years.  [1] However, now that both coins were being struck in brass there was no color difference between the coins so a mark of value was necessary, later to be solved by the introduction of a radiant crown on dupondii portraits. Three more reverse types were introduced for the sestertii: the Arch of Nero, the port of Ostia and a redesigned Decursio with the foot soldiers riding mounts;   dupondii has a new victory type and the Macellum reverse received a legend.

Issue 4 was marked by a return to striking sestertii and dupondii in brass and asses and quadrantes in copper; semisses were no longer produced at the Rome mint.  The marks of value were dropped and the temple of Janus and seated Roma types were introduced. Many of the coins include TR POT XI in the obverse legend.

Issue 5 introduced IMP as a praenomen allowing these coins to be dated to around 66 CE. The reverse types remained unchanged. 

Issue 6 introduces the date TRP XIII (66 – 67) on sestertii and dupondii. Two types were slightly redesigned: Janus (a shorter reverse legend) and Roma (holding a spear and victory).

 

The Lugdunum mint began striking aes corresponding to Issue 3 at Rome and closely followed the changes made at the Rome mint; when orichalcum was no longer used to strike all aes, the Lugdunum mint followed Rome’s lead. All of the aes from Lugdunum are marked with SC, and the primary difference between the mints is the use of a globe at the point of the bust at Lugdunum.   The globe styled bust is almost exclusively distributed in Britain, Belgica, upper and lower Germany and northern Gaul while the Rome mint non-globe bust style is dominant in Italy with both styles found in Spain, southern Gaul, Pannonia and the area east of the Rhine and north of the Danube. As with precious metal coins, the fire of 64 adversely affected Nero’s aes and the sestertius declined in zinc content and weight.[2]

 

A series of semisses struck in copper and orichalcum, with the reverse legend CERTAMEN QVINQVENNALE ROMAE CONSTITVTVM, celebrate the Greek-style festival known as the Neronia.  The reverse shows a table laid with the prizes awarded to a festival winner: an urn of olive oil and a crown of victory.  This type was issued in Rome during the first and third issues  and at Lugdunum during the entire period aes were issued for Nero.  Sydenham considered this type as a commemoration of the first Neronia but J.D.P. Bolton believed that the second Neronia and the anticipation of the holding of the third festival were intended because the coins were issued well after the first festival.  MacDowall does not think that the coins were issued for a particular celebration of the Neronia.  The Rome third issue of this semiss occurred around the time of the second Neronia (ca. 64) and the subsequent disappearance of the type lends some weight to the idea that they were issued for a particular celebration of the festival.  However, the type continued to be issued at Lugdunum (first in brass, then in copper), but may have been prompted by necessity and except for the use of IMP as Nero’s praenomen, they cannot be dated. [3]

                                                                                               

                                               

AES Coinage Without SC

 

The traditional view is that the letters SC on token Roman coins indicated that they were issued   under the authority of the Senate and, consequentially, the absence of these letters indicated the control of the emperor.  Nero was the first emperor to issue precious metal coins with the distinction of including EX SC, but also that he issued token metal coins that did not carry SC, which had been prominently included on the coins of his predecessors.  Prior to the introduction of Nero’s aes, the only token metal coin that was struck without SC was the Adlocutio sestertius of Caligula.  Many opinions have been offered as to the reason why the SC was not included in Nero’s initial aes.  One suggestion is that these coins were regarded as medallions, presentation pieces given by the emperor, but there is no evidence to suggest that Nero was in the habit of presenting coins as gifts. Another explanation is that the coins were mistakes by the mint or were patterns used by the Lugdunum mint.  However, the absence of SC on so many issues (including asses, semisses and quadrans) is too deliberate to be an error. The idea that non-SC coins were prototypes, or that somehow coin patterns somehow got into circulation, ignores the fact that many dies were used in striking these coins.  The copper asses without SC alone had over thirty obverse dies, and it is apparent from the coins themselves that they circulated.  [4]

 

The prominence of SC on Roman token coins decreased in size gradually over the years so that the large letters that dominated the early Julio-Claudian coins are significantly reduced. This appears to indicate that the meaning of SC changed over time.  Under Augustus the presence of these letters denoted the influence of the Senate over the coinage, or their granting of a distinction like the corona civica, but the significance of SC became unimportant and came to be regarded as a vestige of an earlier time.

 

 

 

Historical Types

 

The temple of Janus (Ianus Gemmus or Ianus Quirinus): The building originally stood between the Forum Romanum and the Forum Iuliam, according to Ovid (Fasti 1.257-58).  King Numa was said to have introduced Janus, an old Latin god, to Rome and built the original temple (NH 34.33; Livy 1.19.2; Plut. Numa 2.1).  Janus was a war god and bore the surnames Quirinus and Gemmus, the latter name referring to the twin faces, possibly a reference to the twins of Gemini. The shrine was moved, if not rebuilt, during the construction of the Basilica Aemilia in 179 BCE, so the structure depicted on Nero’s coins dates from the late Republic. Later, Domitian moved the shrine into the Forum Transitoria, obliterating all traces of where it had once stood.  The doors of the shrine were closed when Rome was at peace.  Augustus closed the temple doors three times during his reign (Aug. 22).  Suetonius says that Nero closed the doors during the visit of Tiridates in 66 (Nero 13).  However, the temple figures on Nero’s coinage before this time, as early as 64.

 

The temple appears as a rectangular structure with long walls topped by an equally long latticed window.  The attic is decorated with a vine-like motif and the doorway is arched with columns on either side.  Some coins show a column on the opposite end of the building, indicating an entrance on the opposite end. Nero depicted the temple on his precious metal and token coinage affording views of the building from various angles.  The small flan of the aureus and denarius permitted only a view of the end of the building. Aes had the space to show many more details: the long wall of the temple, the columns having Corinthian capitols, sculptural details present on the closed doors and some coins show an elaborate frieze running across the top of the box-like structure.

 

Macellum: The Macellum Magnum, dedicated in 59, was designed by Nero’s architects, Severus and Celer, and stood on the Caelian Hill in the vicinity of the temple of Claudius (Dio 61.18.3).  The building is shown as a columnar tholus (or circular building) of two stories, raised on a podium, with a dome decorated at the top with a cone-like shape that may indicate an oculus.  This is the earliest evidence for a domed building.  A flight of steps leads to the entrance where a statue of Nero stood.  The depiction of the markets represents only the central building and would have been part of a large court, surrounded by porticoes that would house various shops. Except for the dome, the Macellum followed the traditional form of this kind of distribution complex. The idea that the Macellum had been transformed into the Church of St. Stefano Rontondo by Pope Simplicus was based on a misreading of Nero’s coins, however, the church may have been built over the ruins of the building. [5]

 

The Arch of Nero: The arch of Nero was erected to celebrate the victories of Corbulo in Armenia and was built on the Capitoline Hill in 62 and was probably pulled down following Nero’s damnatio memoriae (Ann. 15.18).  The arch was a single span, surmounted by a statue of Nero driving a quadriga, led by figures of Victory, holding a palm branch and wreath, and Pax, holding a cornucopia and a caduceus. A little further down, stood two warriors, perhaps representing Parthians.  A large figure of Mars, holding a spar and shield, dominated the end of the structure and the face of the arch was covered with reliefs that continue down to the base.  The depiction of the arch on Nero’s sestertii is the only evidence for its appearance.  But, something from the arch may still exist.  The quadriga from the arch may have been taken to Constantinople to decorate the spina of the hippodrome. Later, the group was broken up so that only the horses remained.  They are thought to have been taken to Venice when Constantinople was sacked by the crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, where they were adorned the cathedral of San Marco and are now housed in a museum.  [6]

 

The Harbor at Ostia: This type is remarkable for its birds-eye view of the new harbor at Ostia, begun by Claudius.  The buildings are turned on their side so their facades can be viewed and the granaries and offices are shown arranged in a circle.  There are two designs depicting seven or twelve ships in remarkable detail. Two of the ships, a merchantman entering the harbor and a trireme leaving, are shown in the same positions on both designs. Two curved moles are depicted, the left one with a temple.  Neptune is shown reclining at the entrance of the harbor and a colossal statue of Nero is directly opposite on the shore, between the moles, raised on a high pedestal and probably represents the lighthouse that was surmounted by a statue. 

 

Vesta: The temple of Vesta was among the buildings destroyed in the Great Fire and was quickly rebuilt by Nero, the sixth temple to the goddess to stand on the site. With each new construction, the temple became more magnificent while retaining the plan of a thatched hut. Nero depicted the temple on undated aureii and denarii. Sutherland believes that the temple represented is the rebuilt temple, as it shows a die link with the Augustus/Augusta type, struck from 64-5, referring to Nero’s marriage with Poppaea. [7] Certainly, it would be good propaganda to advertise that so important a structure had been restored.

 

 

                                                           

Conclusion

 

Nero’s character has come down to us colored by ancient writers and further altered by modern popular novels and, ironically, performances by actors.  Given Nero’s reputation as a monster it may be surprising that he had a devoted following that kept his memory alive.  Some people believed he was not dead and would return, and Suetonius recounts that many people decorated Nero’s tomb with flowers and would produce his image on the Rostra (Nero 57).  The Greeks and Parthians held Nero’s memory in high esteem.  The splendor of Nero’s Rome made Tiridates want to rebuild his own capitol and call it Neroneia and the king of Parthia himself called upon the Romans to revere the memory of the emperor (Nero 57).  The Greeks had Nero to thank for their decree of freedom, an act that was more theatrical than a grant of real freedom. But it meant more to the Greeks because it was a Roman – a people who maintained a love/hate relationship with Greek culture – who acknowledged them as superior.  By contrast, Claudius once deprived a Greek provincial, who was a Roman citizen, of his citizenship because he did not know Latin (Dio 60.17.4; Claud. 16.2).  To the Greeks, Nero’s philhellene soul made up for his otherwise repugnant character.  Plutarch, in recounting the tortures of the damned in his De sera numimis vindicta has the soul of Nero, impaled with fiery nails, about to be turned into a viper (because the ancients believed the young vipers ate their mother) but in the last instant he is transformed into a different animal of musical qualities that lives by marshes and lakes.  Nero was owed something good by the gods for his act of kindness toward the Greeks. 

 

The downfall of Nero, according to Tacitus, was caused by his immanitas (brutality) and his luxuria (debauchery or life of pleasure) (Hist. 1.16.2).  Many of his gifts were on a staggering scale and it followed that the more that Nero gave the greater was his need for more money (Nero 10).  Josephus mentions Nero’s madness in handling his riches (BJ 4.494) and the Octavia also condemns the excessive luxuria as the greatest evil of Nero’s reign (426, 430-435).  The widespread damage caused by the fire of 64 and building projects like the Domus Aurea  accelerated the rate of spending.  Nero was forced to resort to finding additional sources of funds, including confiscating temple treasure, imposing crushing taxes, seizing the property of those condemned and the devaluation of the coinage.  The pay due to the army fell into arrears and a new tax was imposed on the tenants in Rome that amounted to one year’s rent caused great hardship (Nero 32, 44.2).  Yet, Nero refused to economize during this difficult time.  An edict issued after Nero’s fall by the prefect of Egypt, Tiberius Alexander, noted that he had heard many complaints from Egyptians about their over taxation and he agreed to put an end to some of these measures.

 

Nero’s support among the aristocracy dwindled as he favored the plebs at the expense of the elite. Nero’s slow descent into tyranny that can be illustrated by a comparison of the Nero in Seneca’s De Clementia to the Nero of the Octavia (440-532).  From regret over the execution of criminals, Nero now debates his old tutor over the need to instilling fear rather than love.  For Nero the sword had become of paramount importance to his security and believed his good deeds would only encourage harm. 

  

 

© David A Wend 2003

 

                                                Select Bibliography

 

Barrett, Anthony A., Agrippina: Sex, Power and Politics in the Early Empire, (Yale University Press, 1996)

Bolton, J.,”Was the Neronia a Freak Festival?”, Classical Quarterly, 1948,82-90.

Gray-Fow, Michael J.G.,”Why the Christians? Nero and the Great Fire”, Latomus(1998),595-616

Griffin, Miriam T., Nero: The End of a Dynasty, (Yale University Press, 1985)

MacDowall, David W., The Western Coinages of Nero,(The American Numismatic Society, 1979)

McDermott, W.C.,”Sextus Afranius Burrus, Latomus(1949),229-54

Suetonius, Nero,edited with an introduction, Notes and Bibliography by B.H. Warmington (Bristol Classical Press, 2000)

Sydenham, Edward A, The Coinage of Nero, (Spink & Sons, 1920)

Syme, Sir Ronald, Tacitus, (Oxford University Press, 1997)

Tameanko, Marvin, Monumental Coins,(Krause Publications, 1999)

Walter, Gerard, Nero, translated by Emma Craufurd, (George Allen & Unwen Ltd, 1957)