Nero Sestertius, RIC I (second edition) Nero 165

Monetary Context and the Neronian Reform

The introduction of the sestertius catalogued as RIC I (second edition) Nero 165 took place within the sweeping transformation of Roman coinage enacted during Nero's reign. During the initial decade of his rule, the imperial capital struck precious metal coinage in gold and silver, while base-metal production remained dormant. Around AD 64, coincident with the great fire of Rome and fiscal adjustments across the empire, Nero initiated an extensive revitalisation of the imperial monetary system. This reform re-established the regular striking of aes denominations at Rome and the western branch facility at Lugdunum on an unprecedented artistic scale. The sestertius remained the supreme unit of the regular aes series, valued at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. Nero's mint masters utilised orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc alloy known modernly as brass, to strike both sestertii and dupondii. The use of gleaming orichalcum set these higher-value base-metal denominations distinctly apart from the pure copper used for asses and lower divisions, creating an immediate visual hierarchy in daily commerce.

Production Standards and Mint Allocation

RIC I (second edition) Nero 165 is securely attributed to the imperial mint at Rome. Unlike contemporaneous issues produced at Lugdunum, which frequently display a small globe at the truncation of the emperor's neck, the Rome dies for this variety omit the globe and instead integrate an aegis at the neck truncation. The planchets for these sestertii were cast as substantial brass flans and struck hot between intricately cut intaglio dies. The target weight standard for Neronian sestertii centered around 25 to 28 grams with diameters typically spanning 34 to 36 millimeters, though individual surviving specimens naturally show minor production tolerances and mass loss from wear. Production of this specific series demanded massive mechanical force to transfer the deep relief of the elaborate cavalry scene into the orichalcum metal. The stylistic fidelity and sculptural elegance achieved on both faces demonstrate that the Rome workshop engaged top-tier engravers to inaugurate the post-64 AD bronze emission.

Obverse Iconography

The obverse of the type presents an expressive, realistic portrait of Nero facing right, crowned with a laurel wreath tied at the nape of his neck. The portrait embodies the distinctive late Julio-Claudian style characterised by a fleshy profile, pronounced jowls, thick hair arranged in stylised tiers, and an elaborate aegis depicted across the lower neck and chest. The aegis, a divine protective attribute associated with Minerva and Jupiter, served as an overt symbol of divine patronage, invulnerability, and cosmic leadership. By adorning the imperial bust with this mythical shield-cloak, the die carvers elevated the earthly ruler into an exalted visual realm while preserving his unmistakable personal likeness. The placement of the aegis without an accompanying globe confirms the die's attribution to the capital's premier workshop.

Reverse Iconography and the Decursio

The reverse composition of RIC I (second edition) Nero 165 displays a dynamic military tableau labeled DECVRSIO. In this scene, Nero appears bare-headed and clad in military cuirass, with his paludamentum flying behind his shoulders as he prances left on horseback, wielding a spear in his raised right hand. He is accompanied in formation by two mounted soldiers, one riding in front and one behind, each carrying a vexillum angled over their shoulders. The decursio was a traditional military exercise comprising cavalry maneuvers, mock charges, and tactical displays executed by Roman cavalrymen and noble youths (iuvenes). This imagery celebrated imperial physical prowess, military readiness, and the cohesion of the equestrian order. The scene projects active imperial command and vitality, reassuring citizens and soldiers that the princeps personally guided the elite equestrian institutions of the Roman state.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The obverse legend reads NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P, running clockwise continuously from the lower left. Rendered in clean Roman monumental capitals, this inscription articulates the full legal and religious authority accumulated by Nero: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus (chief priest), Tribunicia Potestate (possessor of tribunician sacrosanctity), Imperator (supreme commander), and Pater Patriae (father of the fatherland). The omission of specific annual tribunician numbers was intentional on the aes issues, allowing dies to remain in service across consecutive administrative years. The reverse legend comprises two elements: the descriptive header DECVRSIO in the exergue or upper field, and the prominent senatorial acronym S C (Senatus Consulto) positioned in the lower field across the action. While the imperial government controlled all monetary policy, the traditional S C formula continued to grace base-metal denominations as a ceremonial marker of constitutional partnership between the princeps and the Roman Senate.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Numismatic scholars date RIC I (second edition) Nero 165 to approximately AD 64 to AD 65 within the broader window of post-reform aes production spanning AD 62 to AD 68. The Decursio series represents one of the most celebrated and complex programmatic types of Nero's reign, manifesting in several distinct compositional schemes across the sestertius denomination. While neighboring varieties portray Nero riding right, accompanied by a single horseman or foot soldiers, type 165 is explicitly classified by its leftward motion, the presence of two flanking horsemen bearing vexilla, and the presence of the aegis on the emperor's neck without an obverse globe. In C. H. V. Sutherland's revised cataloguing in Roman Imperial Coinage, these variations are systematically differentiated to map the development of die pairs and sequence the rapid output of the Rome mint following the reform.

Circulation and Monetary Survival

As the premier heavy bronze-alloy denomination of the empire, sestertii of the Decursio type circulated widely throughout Italy and the western Roman provinces. They functioned as the workhorse denomination for mid-level civil payments, state expenditures, commerce, and grain transactions. Because of their substantial weight, artistic excellence, and orichalcum content, Neronian sestertii were valued by contemporaries and frequently remained in circulation for generations, passing through the civil wars of AD 68 to 69 and enduring well into the Flavian and Trajanic eras. Consequently, surviving specimens regularly exhibit smooth edge wear, surface softening, and varying states of patination acquired across decades of active exchange and eventual burial in archaeological hoards.

References

1. The Western Coinages of Nero (Numismatic Notes and Monographs 161). pp. 112-145
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMCRE), Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 215-240
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Nero 165. ric.1(2).ner.165
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I (revised edition). pp. 130-160