Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Tiberius

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

15-37, issued by Tiberius

Roman, minted in Lyon

The front (obverse) of this gold coin portrays the head of Emperor Tiberius to the right, laureate. The back (reverse) possibly portrays Livia as Pax, enthroned on a chair with scepter in right hand, branch in left.

The inscription on the front of this coin, TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVTVS (“Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of divine Augustus”), was important to marking the transition of power in the early Roman Empire. The title helped Tiberius to advertise his inherited right to rule, as Augustus’ heir and deified first Roman Emperor. The back design showing a female figure is frequently assumed to be Livia, Tiberius’s mother and Augustus’s wife of fifty-three years. Livia is depicted as the Roman deity for peace, Pax. The inscription around her, “PONTIF MAXIM”, refers to the title of Pontifex Maximus, a title held by each of the Roman Emperors and signified the religious authority held by the Roman Emperor.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Tiberius
Place: Lyon (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 15 CE–37 CE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Obverse: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS "Tiberius Caesar, son of divine Augustus" Reverse: PONTIF MAX "Highest Pontiff"
Dimensions: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4857
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5602/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Theresa Gross-Diaz, “Cat. 36 Aureus Portraying Tiberius: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
https://publications.artic.edu/roman/reader/romanart/section/523

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

Cat. 36 Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Tiberius, A.D. 15/37

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.