[Home, My eBay, Site Map] [eBay logo] [to Browse, Sell, Services, Search, Help, and Community] [Browse Sub-Navigation] CNG - Nero. Denarius. EARLY PORTRAIT. VF Item #231329968 Coins & Stamps:Coins:Non-US:Ancient, Medieval [Image] Bidding is closed for this item. [Image] [Show description]Currently $495.00 First bid $1.00 Quantity 1 # of bids 11 (bid history) [Leave feedback] (with emails) (to seller) Time left Auction has Location PA (to bidder) ended. [envelope] (mail this auction Started 01/05/00, If you are the 08:44:53 PST to a friend) seller or the 01/12/00, [Gift Alert] (request a gift high bidder - Ends 08:44:53 PST now what? alert) Featured Category Auction [Image] Seller (Rating) cngcoins (522) [star] [about me] (view comments in seller's Feedback Profile) (view seller's other auctions) (ask seller a question) [Image] High bid gabriellop (0) [Image] Payment Visa/MasterCard, American Express, See item description for payment methods accepted Shipping Seller ships internationally, See item description for shipping charges [Image] Relist Seller: Didn't sell your item the first time? item eBay will refund your relisting fee if it sells the second time around. Relist this item. Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Currency is U.S. dollar ($) unless otherwise noted. Description ***Please be sure to check our website for RECENT ADDITIONS at historicalcoins.com*** [Image] Nero. 54-68 AD. AR Denarius (3.53 gm). Struck 60/61 AD. NERO CAESAR AVG IMP, bare head right / PONTIF MAX TR P VII COS IIII P P EX SC, Virtus standing left, foot on pile of arms, holding parazonium and spear. RIC I 26 (R3); RSC 220. Toned VF. Rare! 718141. Nero is one of the few Roman Emperors who remains a household name, the very symbol of a corrupt, decadent, murderous Roman tyrant. Yet the first five years of his reign were among the best Rome ever had. Even the later Emperor Trajan had to admit that in his early years, Nero “surpassed us all.” Nero was born the son of Claudius’ niece, Agrippina Junior, and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, a dissolute vestige of one of Rome’s most respected old families. When Agrippina married her uncle, she persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero and gradually pushed him ahead of Claudius’ own son Britannicus in the succession arrangements. Her scheming eventually raised Claudius’ suspicions, but she fed him a dish of poisoned mushrooms before he could rewrite his will. Nero thus inherited the throne at the age of 16, the youngest Emperor yet. Agrippina hoped to rule through him, but she was quickly pushed aside by Nero’s excellent principal advisors, the philosopher Seneca and Afranius Burrus, commander of the Praetorian Guard. Seneca penned a speech for Nero in which the young Emperor promised the Senate to govern by constitutional principles, as Augustus had. For some years, he did exactly that, or rather his advisors ran things efficiently while Nero kept himself occupied with artistic and fleshly pursuits. Taxes were reduced and administrative abuses checked. Commerce flourished, and the mob was mollified by spectacular games and spectacles. The only dark spot in this period--a harbinger of things to come--was the murder of Britannicus, poisoned at one of Nero’s many banquets. In 59 AD, Nero tired of his mother’s meddling and arranged for her to meet an unfortunate accident by means of a collapsible boat. When she proved to be a strong swimmer, he ordered a Centurion to run her through. As Nero grew older and bolder, he began to assert himself against the will of Seneca and Burrus. He fancied himself a great artist and performer, and forced the Roman ruling class to attend his performances (which may have not been all that bad--he took lessons from the world’s foremost master of the lyre, and was said to sing in a husky but pleasant voice). His artistic sensibilities shine through in the coinage of the reign, which is the most striking and attractive of the whole Roman period. Die engravers depicted the Emperor in all his bloated, bull-necked glory, as though his very ugliness set a new standard of beauty. Nero’s extravagant tastes soon strained the Imperial treasury. The silver coinage was debased, and wealthy Romans were targeted for prosecution so their estates might be seized. Nero also began to run wild sexually, carrying on a very public affair with Poppaea, the wife of his supporter Otho, as well as numerous other liaisons with both sexes. In 62, he divorced and executed his wife Octavia and married Poppaea (he later kicked her to death in a fit of petulance). That year, Burrus died and Seneca was forced into retirement. Fire swept through Rome in 64 AD, gutting much of the city’s center. Nero did what he could to help the dispossessed, but rumors began to spread that Nero had started to blaze to clear ground for his vast new palace, the Golden House. Nero deflected blame by singling out a strange Eastern cult--the Christians--for persecution. But events continued to slide out of control. Conspiracies were ruthlessly suppressed, but continued to spread in a gathering atmosphere of dread and desperation. Nero attempted to flee his troubles by embarking on a tour of Greece in 67 AD. The locals welcomed him rapturously, but the revolt of a Western governor and several legions sent him scurrying home. If Nero had acted with resolution he might have kept his throne; instead he proceeded to panic, and lost the critical support of the Praetorians. Abandoned by all and sunken in self-pity, Nero stabbed himself to death, uttering the words, “what a showman the world loses in me.” So died the last Emperor whose family lineage stretched tenuously back to Julius Caesar. Now Rome learned a terrible truth: Emperors are made not by bloodline, but by iron. Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed - 14 day return privilege for any reason. CNG accepts for payment: check, money order or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). The manner of payment accepted is subject to our qualification of the bidder. CNG's Domestic, Canadian, and International postage rates. Pennsylvania residents please add appropriate sales tax. If you would like to learn more about ancient and medieval coinage, visit us at historicalcoins.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Image] Bidding Bidding is closed for this item. If you're the seller or the high bidder - now what? 1. Contact each other. The seller (cngcoins) and the high bidder (gabriellop) should contact each other within three business days to discuss payment and shipping details. 2. Leave feedback for the other party once the the seller has received the payment and the winning bidder has received the item. Leave feedback to seller - Leave feedback to bidder. Details for the seller and high bidder(s): The seller should contact the winning bidder(s) with information on the total cost, including shipping, and where to send payment. 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