Nero, 54-68. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.17 g, 6 h), Rome, circa 64-65. IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P P Laureate head of Nero to right. Rev. Legionary eagle with wings displayed between two standards. BMC 107. BN 238. Cohen 356. RIC 68. WCN 69. Reverse struck from a somewhat worn die, and some tooling to Nero's portrait, otherwise, very fine.

It must be emphasised that the portraits that appeared on Roman coinage, especially those issued from the mint of Rome, had to be approved by the reigning emperor. So what to the brutally veristic portraits of Nero that appeared during the last few years of his reign tell us about him? Was he proud of how he looked; did he think it projected a kind of brute power; or did he think the change from the generally idealised Julio-Claudian look of his predecessors would make him look more human and approachable to his subjects? In any case, no later emperor ever emulated him.