Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Nerva AV Aureus. Rome, AD 96. IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS II P P, laureate head to right / CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM, clasped hands before aquila resting on prow. RIC II 3; C. 24; BMCRE 7; Calicó 957; Roma XXI, 573 (sold for £13,000). 7.29g, 18mm, 6h.
About Good Very Fine.
From the Pinewood Collection.
'A period of rare felicity, in which one may think what one wishes and say what one thinks,' was how Tacitus characterised the rule of his consular colleague Nerva and the latter's successor, Trajan (Histories, 1), 'a most happy age [when] Caesar Nerva blended things once irreconcilable: sovereignty and freedom' (Agricola, 3). Since Tacitus, it seems, never did write his intended account of Nerva's principate, and as the biographies of Suetonius concluded with Domitian, coinage like the present issue offer an invaluable insight into the period. Indeed, the elegantly carved portrait, with its distinctive hooked nose and long neck, likely offers a realistic representation of the emperor, unlike the idealistic obverses of late types under his controversial predecessor (Mattingly and Sydenham, RIC II, p.222). Following the murder of Domitian in September AD 96, the new emperor Nerva made calculated efforts to distance himself from the last Flavian ruler, exonerating those on trial for maiestas and restoring those exiled by Domitian (Cassius Dio, 68.2). In Suetonius' account, the previous emperor was cremated unceremoniously by his old nurse (Life of Domitian, 17.3), and Cassius Dio claimed that silver and gold images of Domitian were even melted down and used in coin production under Nerva (68.1). Coin types bearing the legend 'Roma Renascens' (RIC 67) heralded the dawn of a new and peaceful age and poet Martial lavished praise upon the good government of Nerva, claiming that if the staunch republican Cato were to rise from the dead, even he would be Caesarianus, a champion of this lenient kind of imperial regime (11.5.14).
'Concordia Exercituum' featured on another coin type under Nerva: RIC nos. 2, 48, 53 depicted clasped hands alone in a design similar to those produced under Vitellius in a context of civil and foreign war (clasped hands with legend 'Fides Exercituum' as on RIC 47, 67). The imagery on this present type further highlighted the explicit relation to the military: the aquila and prow illustrated a union between the emperor pictured on the obverse and the army and navy symbolised on the reverse. Such iconography seemed to reflect the broader approach of the emperor, whose decision to retain Domitian-era governors in important military provinces like Britain, Cappadocia-Galatia and the Danubian provinces, for instance, likely aimed at avoiding disruption to military administration and, so, at preserving 'concordia' (Syme, Tacitus, 1958, p.51-2). A. Berriman and M. Todd cited astute consular appointments, like that of the aged Verginius Rufus, ex-commander of legions on the Rhine, as further probable attempts by Nerva to ingratiate himself with the military forces ('A Very Roman Coup: The Hidden War of Imperial Succession, AD 96-8', 2001, p. 316).
Yet, 'Concordia' on the coinage of a weak ruler 'strikes a dangerously apologetic note,' as expressed by H. Mattingly (BMCRE Volume III, p.xxxvii; p.xliv). The present type, from the first of six coin series identified by D. C. A. Shotter, proclaimed a harmony which proved very delicate ('The Principate of Nerva: Some Observations on the Coin Evidence', 1983, p.217). In both disposition (mitissimo seni, mildest of old men, in Pliny, Panegyric, 6; 'mildest of princes' in Martial, 12.6), and body (so frail, according to Cassius Dio, that he had to vomit up his food, 68.1), Nerva emerged as a somewhat feeble figure. The mutiny of the Praetorian Guard in AD 97 undermined the notion of lasting concord in the state, forcing Nerva to surrender the murderers of his predecessor to be killed in turn (Dio 68.3.3), and Pliny, elevating Trajan's role as saviour, credits him with correcting a breakdown of discipline which had occurred in Nerva's army (Panegyric, 6). Though the circumstances of the adoption were obscure, the designation of Trajan as heir was interpreted by Syme as a victory for the Praetorian Guard over Nerva (Tacitus, 1958, p.35) and presented by Dio in the context of Nerva's reduction in power (68.3). Despite conciliatory measures, then, the rule of Nerva showed signs of instability which complicates the professed 'concordia' of this rare and beautiful type.
About Good Very Fine.
From the Pinewood Collection.
'A period of rare felicity, in which one may think what one wishes and say what one thinks,' was how Tacitus characterised the rule of his consular colleague Nerva and the latter's successor, Trajan (Histories, 1), 'a most happy age [when] Caesar Nerva blended things once irreconcilable: sovereignty and freedom' (Agricola, 3). Since Tacitus, it seems, never did write his intended account of Nerva's principate, and as the biographies of Suetonius concluded with Domitian, coinage like the present issue offer an invaluable insight into the period. Indeed, the elegantly carved portrait, with its distinctive hooked nose and long neck, likely offers a realistic representation of the emperor, unlike the idealistic obverses of late types under his controversial predecessor (Mattingly and Sydenham, RIC II, p.222). Following the murder of Domitian in September AD 96, the new emperor Nerva made calculated efforts to distance himself from the last Flavian ruler, exonerating those on trial for maiestas and restoring those exiled by Domitian (Cassius Dio, 68.2). In Suetonius' account, the previous emperor was cremated unceremoniously by his old nurse (Life of Domitian, 17.3), and Cassius Dio claimed that silver and gold images of Domitian were even melted down and used in coin production under Nerva (68.1). Coin types bearing the legend 'Roma Renascens' (RIC 67) heralded the dawn of a new and peaceful age and poet Martial lavished praise upon the good government of Nerva, claiming that if the staunch republican Cato were to rise from the dead, even he would be Caesarianus, a champion of this lenient kind of imperial regime (11.5.14).
'Concordia Exercituum' featured on another coin type under Nerva: RIC nos. 2, 48, 53 depicted clasped hands alone in a design similar to those produced under Vitellius in a context of civil and foreign war (clasped hands with legend 'Fides Exercituum' as on RIC 47, 67). The imagery on this present type further highlighted the explicit relation to the military: the aquila and prow illustrated a union between the emperor pictured on the obverse and the army and navy symbolised on the reverse. Such iconography seemed to reflect the broader approach of the emperor, whose decision to retain Domitian-era governors in important military provinces like Britain, Cappadocia-Galatia and the Danubian provinces, for instance, likely aimed at avoiding disruption to military administration and, so, at preserving 'concordia' (Syme, Tacitus, 1958, p.51-2). A. Berriman and M. Todd cited astute consular appointments, like that of the aged Verginius Rufus, ex-commander of legions on the Rhine, as further probable attempts by Nerva to ingratiate himself with the military forces ('A Very Roman Coup: The Hidden War of Imperial Succession, AD 96-8', 2001, p. 316).
Yet, 'Concordia' on the coinage of a weak ruler 'strikes a dangerously apologetic note,' as expressed by H. Mattingly (BMCRE Volume III, p.xxxvii; p.xliv). The present type, from the first of six coin series identified by D. C. A. Shotter, proclaimed a harmony which proved very delicate ('The Principate of Nerva: Some Observations on the Coin Evidence', 1983, p.217). In both disposition (mitissimo seni, mildest of old men, in Pliny, Panegyric, 6; 'mildest of princes' in Martial, 12.6), and body (so frail, according to Cassius Dio, that he had to vomit up his food, 68.1), Nerva emerged as a somewhat feeble figure. The mutiny of the Praetorian Guard in AD 97 undermined the notion of lasting concord in the state, forcing Nerva to surrender the murderers of his predecessor to be killed in turn (Dio 68.3.3), and Pliny, elevating Trajan's role as saviour, credits him with correcting a breakdown of discipline which had occurred in Nerva's army (Panegyric, 6). Though the circumstances of the adoption were obscure, the designation of Trajan as heir was interpreted by Syme as a victory for the Praetorian Guard over Nerva (Tacitus, 1958, p.35) and presented by Dio in the context of Nerva's reduction in power (68.3). Despite conciliatory measures, then, the rule of Nerva showed signs of instability which complicates the professed 'concordia' of this rare and beautiful type.