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Aureus - Nerva COS III PATER PATRIAE
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 97 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Bare-necked, laureate bust of Emperor Nerva facing right, rendered in high relief with finely detailed laurel wreath and aged facial features characteristic of his portrait type. The effigy is depicted with a slightly elongated neck and naturalistic physiognomy, consistent with the veristic tradition of late 1st-century Roman portraiture. A beaded border frames the circumference of the flan. The encircling legend in Latin capital letters reads IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR POT II, distributed around the portrait. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Nerva's adoption of the title Pater Patriae in 97 AD came relatively late in his reign — he had initially declined the honor on accession in 96, a calculated gesture of Republican modesty. The COS III designation places this striking in his third consulship, the same year he was pressured by a Praetorian mutiny into adopting Trajan as his successor. That political capitulation, made under duress in October 97, effectively ended any independent authority he retained.
Nerva died in January 98, making the entire COS III issue a compressed window of just months.