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Sestertius - Nero CONG II DAT POP, Minerva and Liberalitas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 62-68 |
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| Value | 1 Sestertius = 1/4 Denarius |
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| Reverse description | An elaborate congiarium scene depicted across a two-tiered platform composition. At upper left, Nero, bare-headed and togatus, is seated right upon a raised tribunal; to his left, an official is also seated right upon a secondary platform and extends gifts (congiarium) to a standing citizen accompanied by a small child. At right, the goddess Minerva stands facing left, holding an owl and a spear, while the personification of Liberalitas stands beside her holding a tessera (counting tablet). The scene commemorates the second public distribution of largesse (congiarium) to the Roman people, presented with the monumental dignity typical of large-module Neronian bronzes. |
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| Reverse lettering | CONG II DAT POP (Translation: Congiarium Secundum Datum Populo — The second congiarium (distribution of money to the civilians) given to the people.) |
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| Additional information |
This sestertius commemorates one of Nero's public congiaria — cash distributions to the Roman populace — specifically the second such recorded event of his reign. Nero used these distributions as deliberate political theater, binding popular loyalty at a time when senatorial opinion was already souring. The orichalcum sestertius was the ideal vehicle: large, visually commanding, and struck in sufficient numbers to circulate widely among the urban plebs who actually received the gifts.
RIC I #101 places this issue within the Rome mint's output between 62 and 68 AD, the period following the death of Burrus and the dismissal of Seneca — Nero's last constraints gone.