Silver Denarius of Tiberius
Title
Silver Denarius of Tiberius
Creator
Tiberius
Date
14-37 CE
Description
Obverse: Laureate head of Tiberius in profile view. TI(BERIVS) CAESAR DIVI AVG(VSTI) F(ILIVS) AVGVSTVS: Tiberius Caesar, Son of Divine Augustus, Augustus.
Reverse: Seated Pax. PONTIF(EX) MAXIM(VS): pontifex maximus.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
The obverse of this coin depicts Tiberius, who was emperor from 14-37 CE. Tiberius was the step-son of Augustus and served as the second emperor of Rome upon Augustus’s death. In this portrait, he wears a laurel wreath, a symbol of victory popular in Roman imperial portraits. Often this symbol did not appear at the beginning of a reign, indicating that this coin might have been minted later in Tiberius’s reign, as he would have had to earn the honor before it appeared on his coinage. Tiberius was not a blood-relative of Augustus, but his portrait connects him with Augustus through its idealized face and hairstyle.
The reverse of this coin shows a seated woman holding a long scepter and an olive branch. These attributes indicate that this is a personification of the goddess Pax, although some have posited that it was another important woman in Tiberius’s life, his mother, Livia. However, this seems unlikely, as Livia’s relationship with her son was not stable during his reign and she was not deified until the reign of Claudius. Tiberius assumed the title pontifex maximus in March of 15.
-- Anna Vogel, LU `18
Bibliography: N. H. and A. Ramage, Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ 2009), 151-152; S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford 1996), s.v. Tiberius, Livia (Drusilla); J. M. Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London 1990), s.v. laurel, Pax; R. Seager, Tiberius (Berkeley 1972), xv.
The reverse of this coin shows a seated woman holding a long scepter and an olive branch. These attributes indicate that this is a personification of the goddess Pax, although some have posited that it was another important woman in Tiberius’s life, his mother, Livia. However, this seems unlikely, as Livia’s relationship with her son was not stable during his reign and she was not deified until the reign of Claudius. Tiberius assumed the title pontifex maximus in March of 15.
-- Anna Vogel, LU `18
Bibliography: N. H. and A. Ramage, Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ 2009), 151-152; S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford 1996), s.v. Tiberius, Livia (Drusilla); J. M. Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London 1990), s.v. laurel, Pax; R. Seager, Tiberius (Berkeley 1972), xv.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Hesperia Art, January, 1959.
Identifier
91.119
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
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Files
Citation
Tiberius, “Silver Denarius of Tiberius,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/565.