79 / 184
1205
Nero. Æ Sestertius (29.34 g), AD 54-68. Lugdunum, ca. AD 65. NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P
M TR P IMP P P, laureate head of Nero left, globe at point of neck. Rev. PACE P R TERRA MARIQ
PARTA IANVM CLVSIT, S C across field, view of one side of the temple of Janus with latticed
windows to left and garland hung across closed double doors to right. (RIC 439; WCN 426; Lyon 117;
BN -; BMC 320). Dark green and red-brown patina, light smoothing in fields. A very attractive example.
Extremely fine.
$ 4,000
The reverse legend proclaims that Nero “closed the doors of [the Temple of ] Janus with the peace of the Roman people throughout
the land and sea” while the reverse type illustrates the temple with its doors closed. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and
endings whose dual aspect was usually indicated by his depiction with two faces. The doors to his temple were traditionally opened
to signify declarations of war and closed to indicate the end of hostilities. However, the vastness of the Roman empire and the
numbers of enemies on its borders made it a Very rare occasion when the doors of the Temple of Janus were closed. Nero’s closure
of the doors is usually associated with the successful campaigns of his general Cn. Domitius Corbulo in the East and the reassertion
of Roman influence in Armenia on the border with the Parthian Empire. It is deeply ironic that in the year after Nero celebrated
the closure of the doors of Janus the great and bloody Jewish Revolt broke out, showing that peace was indeed a rare commodity in
the Roman Empire.
1206
Nero. Gold Aureus (7.45 g), AD 54-68. Rome, AD 61/2. NERO CAESAR AVG IMP, bare head of Nero
right. Rev. PONTIF MAX TR P VIII COS IIII P P, ex S C across field, Mars, Virtus or Roma standing left,
holding parazonium and spear, resting foot on cuirass. (RIC 31; WCN 15; BMC 33; Calicó 432). About very
fine.
$ 3,000