★ Attractive Tiberius ★

TIBERIUS (14-37). GOLD Aureus. "Tribute Penny" type. Lugdunum.

Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS.
Laureate head right.
Rev: PONTIF MAXIM.
Livia (as Pax) seated right on throne, holding sceptre and olive branch.

RIC² 29; Calicó 305a.

The obverse legend calling Tiberius 'divi filius', son of God (Augustus), is one of the contradictions of what was considered one of the most controversial princes of ancient Rome. In fact, Tiberius was reluctant to accept the succession, more loyal to republican ideals. When he became emperor, he first of all refused the name 'Imperator', which was his by right. He also did not want the prestigious title of 'Father of the State' and apparently despised that of 'Augustus', which he ended up accepting, however, together with the 'imperium maius et infinitum' and the 'tribunicia potestas', which were the foundations of the Republic. He also arranged for the cult of the living emperor to be abolished. All these refusals contributed to the misunderstanding of Tiberius by his contemporaries, who were now attached to the Augustan concept of Empire. Tiberius was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero, of noble lineage and republican orientation, and Livia Drusilla. His father had sided first with Julius Caesar, then, upon his assassination, with the Caesaricides, to join the revolt against Octavian and fall back south with Sextus Pompey. In 39 B.C. at Misenum, Nero was forced to divorce his wife to give her to Julius Caesar's heir, so Tiberius ended up in Augustus' custody and Livia gained an important political advantage. Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina, the woman he loved and who bore him a son, Drusus, but was forced by Augustus to divorce and marry his daughter Julia. This was another blow to Tiberius who, disgusted with his new wife and politics, decided to retire to Rhodes, leaving room for Augustus' chosen heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar. The two, however, died (AD 2 and 4) and Augustus ended up associating Tiberius himself with the throne, whom he considered to be competent above all in military matters

Condition: Very fine.

Weight: 7.74 g.
Diameter: 20 mm.