Gold Aureus of Tiberius, 7.74 g.
Title
Gold Aureus of Tiberius, 7.74 g.
Creator
Tiberius
Date
c. 15-37 CE
Description
Obverse: Laureate head of Tiberius facing right; TI(BERIVS) CAESAR DIVI AVG(VSTI) F(ILIVS)
Reverse: Seated female figure (Livia or Pax?) facing right, holding scepter in right hand and branch in left hand; PONTIF(EX) MAXIM(VS): pontifex maximus.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
Tiberius, born in 42 BCE, became the stepson of the future Augustus when his mother, Livia, married Octavian in 38 BCE When it became clear that Augustus intended his grandsons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, as his heirs, Tiberius went into morose exile on Rhodes, but after the untimely deaths of the two boys Augustus adopted Tiberius, and he became a loyal and successful general in Augustus' wars in Germany. When Augustus died in 14 CE, Tiberius inherited the throne. He deified Augustus immediately after his death and pursued Augustan policies with little change. He assumed the office of pontifex maximus, the chief priest of Rome, in 15 CE. His reign was relatively peaceful, spent largely in Rome and in seclusion in his villas on the island of Capri. He died in 37 CE at the age of seventy-eight.
From the age of four Tiberius had lived in the shadow of Augustus, and his gold and silver coinage concentrates almost exclusively on his relationship to his divine predecessor and other members of his family and on personifications of imperial virtues. The coins have none of the references to imperial achievements that had characterized the coinage of Augustus. Even his portrait shows strong Augustan influence, probably another way of emphasizing the relationship and the legitimacy of his succession. The hairstyle, with its locks combed down on the forehead, is very similar, as is the general idealized quality. He differs from Augustus, however, in his broad forehead and very large eyes, noted by the biographer Suetonius (Tiberius, 68).
The reverse depicts a seated figure, sometimes identified as Tiberius' mother Livia and sometimes as Pax, the personification of peace, with her standard attributes, a scepter and palm branch.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: C.H.V. Sutherland, The Roman Imperial Coinage I: from 31 BC to AD 69. rev. ed. (London 1984) 25.
From the age of four Tiberius had lived in the shadow of Augustus, and his gold and silver coinage concentrates almost exclusively on his relationship to his divine predecessor and other members of his family and on personifications of imperial virtues. The coins have none of the references to imperial achievements that had characterized the coinage of Augustus. Even his portrait shows strong Augustan influence, probably another way of emphasizing the relationship and the legitimacy of his succession. The hairstyle, with its locks combed down on the forehead, is very similar, as is the general idealized quality. He differs from Augustus, however, in his broad forehead and very large eyes, noted by the biographer Suetonius (Tiberius, 68).
The reverse depicts a seated figure, sometimes identified as Tiberius' mother Livia and sometimes as Pax, the personification of peace, with her standard attributes, a scepter and palm branch.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: C.H.V. Sutherland, The Roman Imperial Coinage I: from 31 BC to AD 69. rev. ed. (London 1984) 25.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Bought from Abner Kreisberg. October 2, 1974.
Identifier
91.118
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Roman, Empire, Tiberius, female, Livia, Pax, scepter, branch
Files
Citation
Tiberius, “Gold Aureus of Tiberius, 7.74 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/263.