Roman coin Sestertius Emperor Nero

Roman coin Sestertius Emperor Nero

Roman coin of emperor Nero

This Roman patinated replica coin, featuring the image of emperor Nero - a Roman Sestertius -, is an absolute necessity for collectors of coins and friends of antique treasures!

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus is depicted here; * 15 December 37 in Antium, modern Anzio (Italy); † 9 or 11 June 68 near Rome. He ruled from 54 to 68 A.D., perceiving himself as an artist, and he was the last representative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Emperor Nero made history as alleged arsonist and lover of arts.

The Sestertius was a coin and main financial unit (monetary) of the Roman Republic and Empire. It was originally worth 2.5 Aes, hence the name, 'the third (As) by half' = semis tertius (as), and the sign IIS (II for 'two' + S for semis, 'half'). That changed into HS. After about 130 B.C., the Sestertius became equal to four Aes or two Dupondii.

The Sestertius appeared for the first time in the 3rd century B.C. in the Roman Republic, it was minted in this time in silver and weighed scarcely more than 1 gramme. In the 1st century B.C., under Julius Caesar, the Sestertius was minted for the first time in bronze and issued in large quantities.
Augustus' coin reform gave the Sestertius its final shape. This Sestertius determined financial economy now for the next 200 years. Though weight and the proportion of zinc constantly decreased, appearance and valency of the coin remained constant, even as a divisional coin.

The Sestertius was also book currency till the monetary reform of emperor Diocletian. Thus public issues, cashless transfers and accountancy were carried out with the Sestertius as financial unit. The Sestertius was subject to inflation as much as the other coins of the first two centuries of the Imperial Era, because soon its material value exceeded its nominal value many times. The Sestertius experienced its last short period of fertility in the reign of the Augustus of the Gallic Empire, Postumus, who minted double Sestertii in Cologne.
Due to inflation, the regular production of Sestertii ceased - as that of all the other bronze coins - after the 264 issue. The last bronze coins in comparable size were minted in 269 in Cologne and in 275 in Rome, but maybe they were not intended for regular payment but considered memorial coinage.

• roman coin diameter: 3.5 cm
• Roman Sestertius
• Roman coin replica, patinated