Bare head of Nero right on obverse; reverse shows oak wreath with inscription within

**Obverse:** Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudians, became emperor in AD 54 at the age of sixteen under the guidance of his mother Agrippina and his tutor Seneca, and these early issues from Lugdunum belong to the period when the regime still presented itself as a model of moderation.

**Reverse:** The oak wreath, or *corona civica*, was the ancient Roman honor for saving the life of a citizen and had become a standing emblem of the emperor as preserver of his people, here framing a recital of Nero's offices in his third tribunician year.

**Obverse legend:** NERO • CAESAR • AVG • IMP •, "Nero Caesar Augustus Imperator," with *AVG* for *Augustus* and *IMP* for *Imperator*, the standard styling of the reigning princeps.

**Reverse legend:** PONTIF • MAX • TR • P • III • P • P •, "Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the third time, Father of the Country," abbreviating *Pontifex Maximus*, *Tribunicia Potestate*, and *Pater Patriae*. The exergue EX • S C, *ex senatus consulto*, marks the issue as struck "by decree of the Senate."

Areas of iridescent tone, light scratches, reverse struck slightly off center


1/13/23	$720	XF	Stack's Bowers	— 0%
1/19/21	$2,250	VF	CNG	▼ −7%

Denarius of NeroRIC I 12

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