Nero was one of Rome’s most selfish and self-obsessed rulers. He often depicted himself as a god by wearing the sun god Sol’s crown as on this coin. On the back of the coin, the city of Alexandria is personified as Nero. After a great fire, Nero…
This coin, struck during the beginning of the reign of Emperor Hadrian, pictures a portrait of the general turned emperor crowned with a laurel on the obverse. Fitting for an emperor that spent half his rule outside of Rome, the reverse shows the…
The obverse depicts Elagabalus, born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassius, a controversial and absent emperor. Elagabalus forced Rome to worship the Syrian sun deity, Elagabal, in place of Jupiter; arranged a marriage to a prominent enemy of Rome, Urania; …
Emperor, stoic philosopher, and author of The Meditations, Marcus Aurelius was the last of Rome's Five Good Emperors. “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” His teachings, such as this,…
Emperor Antoninus Pius issued this coin to commemorate his late and deified wife Faustina (the Elder), renowned for her beauty and wisdom, who passed in 140 CE. The front side of this coin is the draped bust of Roman Empress Diva Faustina, who wore…