Nerva, 96-98. Cistophorus (Silver, 27 mm, 10.35 g, 6 h), uncertain mint in Asia Minor, January-September 97. IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR POT P P Laureate head of Nerva to right. Rev. COS III Aquila between two signa. BMC 80. Cohen -. RIC 119. RPC III 1298. A beautiful piece with a fine, long-necked portrait of Nerva. A few minor marks and with a thin flan crack, otherwise, about extremely fine.


Long necks were a distinctive feature of Julio-Claudian portraiture, especially on the later portraits of Tiberius and those of Caligula and Claudius, but also on earlier portraits of both Julius Caesar and Augustus. During the later years of Nero's reign, the long-necked portraits fell out of fashion and we almost consistently encounter much more realistically proportioned necks afterwards, until the reign of Nerva, when the emperor was again shown with a long, Julio-Claudian style neck. This was likely due to several reasons. First, Nerva, whose reign was short and unstable, wanted to garner support by drawing parallels between his reign and those of the earlier Julio-Claudian emperors, who many associated with times of political and military stability. Furthermore, the emperor was an elderly 65-year-old at the time of his accession. Growing older and perhaps more conservative, he may simply have preferred the look of the earlier coinage, and demanded a return to the earlier style long-necked portraits for his own coinage.