Symbols on a Coin of Nero

This coin is an eastern provincial silver imperial tetradrachm, dated to 63-64 CE. This coin is symbolic of Nero’s ferverous attempt at establishing himself as an emperor as great as Augustus; his face is on the obverse and an eagle holding lightning bolts, symbolising the Supreme God Jupiter (Zeus) on the reverse.

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fifth Roman emperor, and last emperor in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He reigned from 13 October 54 to 9 June 68 when he died at age 30. Memorialized as a monster by the Senate, he was responsible for the murder of multiple family members, draining the Roman treasury, and killing Christians during his infamous “persecutions.”