Nerva and the Roman Empire

While denotative images celebrating aspects of Nerva’s policy have attracted most scholarly study, their importance is overemphasized since the most common images on Nerva’s coinage are personifications of imperial ideals such as Libertas, Aequitas, and Fortuna. Many scholars have dismissed such images as generic and repetitive. There is a strong correspondence between the personifications and contemporary writers who ascribe the same qualities to Nerva. These coins thus visualize the written and spoken praise directed at Nerva by contemporaries. The frequency and widespread distribution of these images obviates the interpretation that the images were directed exclusively at the Senate. The generality of personifications allowed viewers to bring their own interpretation to them. Libertas, for example, is one of the most common images on Nerva’s coins, and could be understood in different ways by viewers. In addition to freedom from tyranny (a senator’s understanding), Libertas also could evoke freedom from taxation.