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Sestertius - Nero S C, Mars, Pax, and Victory
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 62-68 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts the Janus-type arch (Arcus Neronis), a gated triumphal arch surmounted by a quadriga or crowning element, with two standing figures in the archway niches — identified as Mars and Pax or Victory — flanking the central passageway. The large senatorial authority marks S and C (Senatus Consultum) appear prominently in the left and right fields respectively, as was standard on imperial orichalcum coinage. The arch design, rendered in a frontal architectural elevation, references Neronian building projects and imperial ideology celebrating peace and martial virtue. The reverse field shows the characteristic broad, flat style of mid-first-century Roman bronze coin engraving. The overall design references the Porta Triumphalis or a commemorative arch erected in Nero's honor. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Nero's sestertii from this period were struck at a moment when the emperor was actively renegotiating Rome's relationship with Parthia — the uneasy settlement of 63 AD over Armenia required a diplomatic fiction in which Tiridates was crowned by a Roman general rather than the emperor himself, preserving Parthian dignity while technically maintaining Roman supremacy. The coinage of these years reflects that posturing directly.
RIC I#143 is among the better-documented types of Nero's bronze output, produced at the Rome mint during a phase when orichalcum sestertii were being struck at comparatively high volume before the weight reduction that followed later in the reign.