Roman Empire AD 14-37 AR Denarius Tiberius NGC Ancients MS

Tiberius (AD 14-37). AR denarius (18mm, 3.70 gm, 2h). Lugdunum, ca. AD 14-17. TI CAESAR DIVI-AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Tiberius right / PONTIF-MAXIM, Livia, as Pax, seated right, feet on stool, grounded scepter in right hand, olive branch in outstretched left; chair with ornate legs, single line below. RIC I 30; BMRCE 48; RSC 16a. NGC certified as Mint State!

Despite being perhaps, the worst of all Roman emperors, Caligula's coinage is interesting and attractive. As he had few, if any, real accomplishments to tout, his reverse types place great stress on his blue-blooded lineage. His portrait on this denarius is a bit intense, and stern as opposed to the gentle image on the reverse, depicting his great-grandfather, Augustus, now deified. The second star on the reverse possibly intended to represent Tiberius.

His cautious nature is reflected in his coinage - unlike the proliferation of types employed by Augustus, Tiberius kept the same simple design for both silver denarii and gold aurei for almost the entirety of his reign. This uniformity of type makes it virtually impossible to date any particular aureus or denarius more precisely than somewhere within the last two decades of his reign. Hence, virtually any of his coins could have been struck in the same year as the momentous event he probably never heard about, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Judaea, likely between AD 30 and 34. This coin type is most closely associated to Tiberius as the "Tribute Penny," as they are mentioned in the Bible.