★ Attractive Nero ★

NERO (54-68). GOLD Aureus. Rome.

Obv: IMP NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS.
Laureate head right.
Rev: IVPPITER CVSTOS.
Jupiter seated left on throne, holding thunderbolt and sceptre.

RIC² 63; Calicó 413.

Certified by NGC 6638081-004 After the death of his mother Agrippina in 59 and prefect Burro in 62, the praetorian prefects Fenio Rufus and Ofonius Tigellinus became closer to the emperor, contributing to the resentment towards him, as they pandered to Nero's every vice and excess. Tacitus and Suetonius in particular report how indignant the Senate was. Military successes in Britannia and Armenia did not earn the emperor much favour and in 64 he had to face the famous fire that destroyed part of the city. Inevitably, conspiracies against him followed, the most famous of which was that of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, which involved eminent personalities, including the prefect Fenius Rufus, the writer Seneca, the poet Lucanus, the philosopher Paetus and even the general Corbulo, who had achieved success in Armenia. Nero attributed the merit of having survived this conspiracy to divine intervention, in particular to Jupiter Custos (=Guardian), depicted on the reverse of this aureus.

Condition: Near extremely fine.

Weight: 7.23 g.
Diameter: 17 mm.