Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Nero AV Aureus. Lugdunum, AD 63. NERO CAESAR AVG IMP, youthful bare head right / PONTIF MAX TR P X COS IIII P P, Roma standing left, holding spear and balancing parazonium on knee while she places foot on head of defeated enemy, around which pile of shields; EX-SC across fields. RIC 40; C. 232; BMC 45; Calicó 437. 7.70g, 19mm, 6h.
Near Mint State. Rare, and in exceptional state of conservation.
This issue is interesting in that it demonstrates noble intentions on the part of the young Nero. The presence of EX SC (by decree of the Senate) on this and other early coins of his reign was a result of a deliberate change in imperial policy. Although under Augustus the bronze coinage bore the mark SC as a recognition of the Senate's historical role in coinage and as proof of his desire to work together with the Senate for the good of Rome, the production of gold and silver coinage remained the prerogative of the Princeps. Nero decided that the Senate should be granted a say in the coining of gold and silver, and as a result the formula SC appears on his coins until AD 64 when this Senatorial privilege was revoked.
The exclusion of the Senate from responsibility for the gold and silver coinage may have been a political expedient required in the aftermath of the Great Fire of Rome which began on 18 July and burned for five days, destroying three of fourteen districts and severely damaging seven more.
According to Tacitus, Nero's response was commendable. Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero returned to Rome from Antium to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds, and personally took part in the search for and rescue of victims of the blaze, spending days searching the debris without even his bodyguards. He opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. In the wake of the fire, Nero began a massive reconstruction effort utilising a new urban plan; houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticoes on wide roads.
The cost to rebuild the city was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. Nero therefore devalued the Roman currency for the first time in the Empire's history, reducing the weight of the denarius from 84 per Roman pound to 96. He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%. Furthermore, the weight of the aureus was reduced from 40 per Roman pound to 45.
Near Mint State. Rare, and in exceptional state of conservation.
This issue is interesting in that it demonstrates noble intentions on the part of the young Nero. The presence of EX SC (by decree of the Senate) on this and other early coins of his reign was a result of a deliberate change in imperial policy. Although under Augustus the bronze coinage bore the mark SC as a recognition of the Senate's historical role in coinage and as proof of his desire to work together with the Senate for the good of Rome, the production of gold and silver coinage remained the prerogative of the Princeps. Nero decided that the Senate should be granted a say in the coining of gold and silver, and as a result the formula SC appears on his coins until AD 64 when this Senatorial privilege was revoked.
The exclusion of the Senate from responsibility for the gold and silver coinage may have been a political expedient required in the aftermath of the Great Fire of Rome which began on 18 July and burned for five days, destroying three of fourteen districts and severely damaging seven more.
According to Tacitus, Nero's response was commendable. Upon hearing news of the fire, Nero returned to Rome from Antium to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds, and personally took part in the search for and rescue of victims of the blaze, spending days searching the debris without even his bodyguards. He opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. In the wake of the fire, Nero began a massive reconstruction effort utilising a new urban plan; houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticoes on wide roads.
The cost to rebuild the city was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. Nero therefore devalued the Roman currency for the first time in the Empire's history, reducing the weight of the denarius from 84 per Roman pound to 96. He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%. Furthermore, the weight of the aureus was reduced from 40 per Roman pound to 45.