Reproduction Aureus of Nero - Jupiter

Obverse: Laureate head of Nero right, with beard. Text around NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS (Nero, Caesar and emperor (Augustus)).

Reverse: Jupiter, bare to waist, cloak round lower limbs, seated left on throne, holding thunderbolt in right hand and long sceptre in left. Text around IVPPITER CVSTOS (Jupiter, the guardian).

History: Nero was the fifth Roman Emperor and ruled from AD 54-68. His infamous reign was associated with extravagance and debauchery. The emperor’s increasingly tyrannical behaviour throughout AD 64 and 65 resulted in a plot to oust him from power, the Pisonian Conspiracy, led by the leading Roman statesman, Gaius Calpurnius Piso.

Nero survived the Pisonian Conspiracy and believed that only divine intervention had saved him from the assassination attempt. Nero attributed Jupiter, the king of the gods, with the intervention. To commemorate this, Nero struck gold aurei depicting Jupiter, the Guardian (represented by the inscription “Custos” – one who preserves and saves), on the reverse.

Although the emperor had survived the conspiracy it was a key turning point in his reign, and a major step towards his overthrow and suicide in 68AD.

Date: Rome mint, c.AD 65

Diameter: 1.9cm