COLLECTION OF IMPERIAL AUREI

Young Nero, born 37 AD, was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. In 49 AD, Agrippina married her uncle, Emperor Claudius, and persuaded him to adopt Nero on February 25, 50. As a result, Nero became Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus and was designated as successor (Princeps Iuventutis), often appearing alongside Claudius on coins bearing this title. In 53, he married his stepsister Octavia, daughter of Claudius and Messalina. When Claudius passed away in October 54, Nero ascended to the throne uncontested, sidelining the young Britannicus. On one hand, this coin highlights Agrippina’s significant role in the new government, a sort of co-ruler or perhaps even something more. On the other hand, it symbolises the legitimation of Nero’s authority by depicting a quadriga drawn by elephants carrying the statues of the Deified Augustus and the recently Deified Claudius, with a reference to senatorial power (EX SC). Nero gradually removed his mother from power until he ordered her assassination (59 AD).