Nero Brass Sestertius, RIC I (second edition) Nero 273

Monetary Context and Reform

The introduction of Nero's reformed aes coinage marked a transformative epoch in Roman imperial monetary policy. For the first decade of Nero's reign, the mint at Rome produced virtually no base-metal coinage, relying instead on leftover Julio-Claudian bronze or provincial and auxiliary issues. Around AD 64, coincident with the rebuilding efforts following the Great Fire of Rome and broader financial realignments, the imperial administration initiated a massive output of base-metal denominations. This reform established a cohesive hierarchy of metals and denominations, reaffirming the sestertius as the premier large-denomination coin of everyday transactions, valued at four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. The sestertius was struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned brass alloy composed primarily of copper and zinc, which differentiated it visually and metallurgically from the pure red copper used for lower denominations like the as. Type RIC I (second edition) Nero 273 reflects this revitalized currency system, providing the state with an expansive platform to distribute ideological messaging while circulating ample high-denomination change required for commerce, military pay, and urban grain supply distributions.

Mint Output and Metallurgical Production

Type RIC I (second edition) Nero 273 is securely attributed to the imperial mint situated in Rome. During this phase of Nero's reign, base-metal coin production was split between Rome and the active western mint at Lugdunum (modern Lyon). Numismatists differentiate the output of the two facilities through distinct stylistic treatments, engraving conventions, and specific iconographic indicators, most notably the small globe often present on the tip of the neck truncation on Lugdunese dies. Type 273 lacks this globe and exhibits the deep, expressive sculptural modeling typical of the capital's master engravers. The coin blanks were cast in orichalcum, with weight targets centering around a traditional standard of approximately 26 to 28 grams, though specimens display normal ancient weight variance caused by manual flan production and batch adjusting. The dies were subjected to high-impact hot striking, resulting in broad flans that provided sufficient surface area to accommodate high-relief portraiture, intricate drapery, and fine background armaments on the reverse.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse displays a right-facing, mature portrait of Nero crowned with a laurel wreath. A defining diagnostic feature of type 273 is the presence of the aegis, visible as scaled goatskin mantle or breastplate adorned at the base of the neck and shoulder. In Hellenistic and Roman imperial iconography, the aegis served as an attribute of Jupiter and Minerva, symbolically investing the princeps with divine protection and celestial authority over the empire. Engraved during the final phase of Nero's principate, the portrait renders the emperor's features with unvarnished naturalism: a fleshy chin, thick neck, prominent brow, and elaborate, waved hair combed forward over the forehead in the theatrical, Hellenized fashion characteristic of his later years. The peripheral legend encircles the bust in crisp, evenly spaced lettering, beginning at the lower left and running clockwise around the rim.

Reverse Iconography and Armament Details

The reverse composition presents the helmeted personification of Roma seated left in military dress, embodying Roman martial dominion and state stability. She sits upon an iron or bronze cuirass, resting her left foot on a low support or helmet. In her extended right palm, she balances a winged Victory advancing toward her, extending a celebratory wreath. Roma's left arm cradles a parazonium, a ceremonial short sword or dagger emblematic of military command, held upright or angled downward across her lap. Arranged behind the cuirass is an accumulation of captured armor, specifically delineated on this type as two round shields and one oblong shield stacked closely together. The presence and configuration of these shields serve as crucial typological markers, separating type 273 from neighboring variants that feature different weapons arrays, such as oval shields alone or combinations with bow and greaves. Flanking the seated figure are the letters S and C in the field, with the ethnic ROMA situated firmly in the exergue.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The obverse inscription on type 273 reads NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P, expanding to 'Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Imperator, Pater Patriae.' This comprehensive sequence of offices and honorifics articulates every legal foundation of the principate, including supreme religious guardianship (Pontifex Maximus), civil authority and veto power (Tribunicia Potestas), supreme military acclamation (Imperator), and paternal stewardship of the Roman people (Pater Patriae). On the reverse, the legend ROMA names the divine personification, while the bold abbreviation S C stands for Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). While base-metal production was strictly under imperial administration, the retention of S C preserved the traditional constitutional fiction of shared monetary oversight between the princeps and the Roman Senate, an epigraphic staple of token coinage established during the reign of Augustus.

Typological Variants and Chronological Sequence

Within the extensive series of Roma seated sestertii struck under Nero, type RIC I (second edition) Nero 273 occupies a specific place determined by its combination of portrait attributes, bust direction, reverse armaments, and obverse legend formula. While closely related issues present Nero's head bare, facing left, or without the aegis (such as RIC 272, 274, or 275), type 273 is defined strictly by the laureate head right with aegis, coupled with the seated Roma holding Victory, parazonium, and backed by two round shields and one oblong shield. Chronologically, this emission falls into the late Rome mint aes phases dating between approximately AD 64 and AD 68, likely struck around AD 65. The lack of an iterated tribunician or imperatorial number restricts absolute dating to within this multi-year bracket, during which the mint at Rome produced massive runs of sestertii sharing identical reverse dies across differing imperial portrait styles.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Afterlife

Once released from the mint at Rome, sestertii of this design entered extensive circulation throughout Italy and the western provinces, including Gaul, the Rhineland, and Britannia. Because brass sestertii possessed considerable purchasing power for everyday commerce, they circulated heavily for decades. Nero's aes issues were so abundant and physically substantial that they survived the violent upheavals of the Civil Wars of AD 68-69 and continued in regular use through the Flavian and Antonine dynasties. Hoard evidence and excavation finds from military camps and civic centers across northern and western Europe regularly document Neronian sestertii exhibiting heavy wear from fifty to one hundred years of continuous monetary velocity. Despite Nero suffering posthumous damnatio memoriae, his bronze and brass coins were not systematically demonetized or recalled, owing to the high fiscal cost of replacing such vast quantities of everyday token coinage.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 216-220
2. The Western Coinages of Nero (Numismatic Notes and Monographs, No. 161). pp. 80-112
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC I (second edition) Nero 273. ric.1(2).ner.273
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (Revised Edition). p. 165, no. 273