The 5 Good Emperors Collection

[Restitutor]

Do you ever look at your collection and all of a sudden think, oh wow, I have a category of coins! Well, that hit me this afternoon when I realized I have actually completed the 5 Good Emperors category. As Edward Gibbon famously said,

Quote

If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian Titus to the accession of Commodus. The vast extent of the Roman empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the firm but gentle hand of four five successive emperors, whose characters and authority commanded involuntary respect. The forms of the civil administration were carefully preserved by Nerva Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, who delighted in the image of liberty, and were pleased with considering themselves as the accountable ministers of the laws.

Now, obviously Mr. Gibbon never got to experience the sweet, sweet taste of a Double Quarter Pounder with Super Sized Fries from McDonald's, so the condition of the human race has definitely become more happy and prosperous since these men ruled Europe, but we can forgive Mr. Gibbon for not living into the 20th century. But I digress... 

As you probably noticed from my editing of Eddies quote, I also take some issue with poor Domitian getting the short end of the stick and Nerva being the start of the 5 Good Emperors! Over the years I think the view of Domitian has begun to change for the better, and frankly I think he should be where the 5 Good Emperors period begins. Or, really, we should change things to the 7 Good Emperors and include Vespasian & Titus. Nerva, given that he very likely knew Domitian was going to be assassinated, really drops in esteem from my humble PoV. So while he did pick Trajan, I'm not sure whether he should really be put on the same level as the 4 rulers who came after him, or even his 3 predecessors. And, 5 Good Emperors or 7 Good Emperors sounds wayyyy better than 8 Good Emperors, so I fear there just isn't space for old Nerva in this category! Even numbers just don't sound as appealing ya know? 😂 Alright, I'll finally hop off my Domitian/Flavian soap box and get on with the coins! 

My 5 Good Emperors collection:

Please feel free to post your own 5 Good Emperors collection as a whole or in part, or anything else you feel is relevant!

[Alegandron]

4 minutes ago, Restitutor said:

Do you ever look at your collection and all of a sudden think, oh wow, I have a category of coins! Well, that hit me this afternoon when I realized I have actually completed the 5 Good Emperors category. As Edward Gibbon famously said,

Now, obviously Mr. Gibbon never got to experience the sweet, sweet taste of a Double Quarter Pounder with Super Sized Fries from McDonald's, so the condition of the human race has definitely become more happy and prosperous since these men ruled Europe, but we can forgive Mr. Gibbon for not living into the 20th century. But I digress... 

As you probably noticed from my editing of Eddies quote, I also take some issue with poor Domitian getting the short end of the stick and Nerva being the start of the 5 Good Emperors! Over the years I think the view of Domitian has begun to change for the better, and frankly I think he should be where the 5 Good Emperors period begins. Or, really, we should change things to the 7 Good Emperors and included Vespasian & Titus. Nerva, given that he very likely knew Domitian was going to be assassinated, really drops in esteem from my humble PoV. So while he did pick Trajan, I'm not sure whether he should really be put on the same level as the 4 rulers who came before him, or even his 3 predecessors. And, 5 Good Emperors or 7 Good Emperors sounds wayyyy better than 8 Good Emperors, so I fear there just isn't space for old Nerva in this category! Even numbers just don't sound as appealing ya know? 😂 Alright, I'll finally hop off my Domitian/Flavian soap box and get on with the coins! 

My 5 Good Emperors collection:

Please feel free to post your own 5 Good Emperors collection as a whole or in part, or anything else you feel is relevant!

Well, it I do not see a heart or other rating for your post. But I would give it a Double-Like! Very nice set, @Restitutor,

[Alegandron]

I put together a hardscrabble "Five Good Emperors"... (I have other examples, but this one is fun.)

NERVA:
 
RI Nerva AE Dupondius 96-98 CE LIBERTAS PVBLICA -pileus
Ex: @TIF (got it because she is no expert)  

TRAJAN:

RI AE As Trajan CE 98-117 26mm 11.0g Rome Laureate Draped - SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS Victory R wreath palm S-C RIC 675
Ex: @John Anthony (got this cuz the SPQR acronymn is SPELLED OUT)

HADRIAN:
 
RI Hadrian, AD 117-138 Æ Limes Denarius 18mm 3.5mm after AD 125 Genius stndg sacrificing altar cornucopia RIC II 173
Ex: @John Anthony (my only Limes)

ANTONIUS PIUS:
 
RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE BI Tet Alexandria Egypt Dikaiosyne Scale
Ex: @Mat (The Tet Master)

MARCUS AURELIUS:
 
RI Aurelius Marcus 161-180 AE Sestertius S-C
Ex: @John Anthony (my first purchase from him)

[Qcumbor]

2 minutes ago, Alegandron said:

Well, it I do not see a heart or other rating for your post. But I would give it a Double-Like! Very nice set, @Restitutor,

Same here, how come we can't "like" the God here  ?

Q

[Qcumbor]

I have an original set of the 5 good emperors, as part of the Divi series

Q

[Spaniard]

@Restitutor...That's a lovely 'FIVE'..

For some reason I can't like your post?..Maybe it's just me?....But I certainly do like it!.....

Shouldn't it be Nerva as the first?...

Here's mine with their chicas...

 

[Qcumbor]

1 minute ago, Spaniard said:

Shouldn't it be Nerva as the first?...

Yes, of course it should

Q

[Alegandron]

2 minutes ago, Spaniard said:

@Restitutor...That's a lovely 'FIVE'..

For some reason I can't like your post?..Maybe it's just me?....But I certainly do like it!.....

Shouldn't it be Nerva as the first?...

Here's mine with their chicas...

 

Very cool presentation!

[Spaniard]

3 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Yes, of course it should

Q

I was trying to be diplomatic.

[ambr0zie]

Strange, I can't react either to the OP - it looks nobody can.

Building the Good Emperors set is fun and considerably easier than building the 12 Caesars set (I am far from that, even cheating with provincial coins)

 

Here are my imperial silver + bronze sets (for Marcus Aurelius I had to use a provincial as I don't have an imperial bronze coin

 

And since you mentioned some Flavians, they deserve at least a mention (yep, I know I swapped Domitian with Titus, but I am too lazy to compose the image again). And even if he was no Marcus, Lucius Verus wasn't the worst emperor out there.

[ominus1]

37 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

I have an original set of the 5 good emperors, as part of the Divi series

Q

..now thats specialization sir! 🙂

[ominus1]

.... ihave the 'variety pack" reverses of the 5(6) 'good"in denarii...(+ one 😄)

Edited June 12, 2022 by ominus1

[Spaniard]

@Restitutor...Love to see the reverses too?

[ambr0zie]

Nothing wrong with building a 5 Good Emperors provincial set (would have added the extra Flavians and Verus, but I don't have a Titus or a Verus provincial ....)

[Finn235]

I have to say that I'd be with Gibbon on this one - if I had to pick one era prior to the 1700s in which to live, it'd probably be the reigns of Hadrian through Antoninus Pius. Preferably as a Roman aristocrat and not a Dacian slave 😉

I took this photo of my collection last year for fun - I finally managed to track down every person of the dynasty except Domitia Lucilla, and I haven't had any luck winning an Antinous yet

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Finn235

[John Conduitt]

On 6/12/2022 at 9:14 PM, Restitutor said:

Do you ever look at your collection and all of a sudden think, oh wow, I have a category of coins! Well, that hit me this afternoon when I realized I have actually completed the 5 Good Emperors category.

Until you mentioned it, I didn't realise that I did. Albeit by accident, after recently buying a rather scrappy Nerva in a lot. Thank you!

Nerva Denarius, 96

Aequitas (RIC II, Nerva 1 denarius). Found Tyne and Wear.

Trajan Denarius, 103-111

Trophy of arms (RIC II, 226). From the Westbury Sub Mendip (Somerset) Hoard 2016.

Hadrian Denarius, 126-127

Virtus (RIC II.3, 851). From the Ropsley (Lincolnshire) Hoard 2018.

Antoninus Pius As, 154-155

Felicitas (RIC III, 937). Coin of British Association.

Marcus Aurelius Denarius, 161-162

Divus Antoninus Pius (RIC III, 441). Found near Lavenham, Suffolk, 2018. Portable Antiquities Scheme: SF-C4FA82 https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/900577

Edited June 14, 2022 by John Conduitt

[Curtisimo]

The 5 Good Emperors in silver!

Edited June 12, 2022 by Curtisimo

[AncientOne]

Great idea @Restitutor! Its always fun to assemble these groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DonnaML]

3 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

Same here, how come we can't "like" the God here  ?

Q

Because he already knows what we're thinking, so it would be superfluous? A wonderful post and thread, @Restitutor. I'll try to pick one of each to post later on.  But I'll start with two for the price of one:

Edited June 12, 2022 by DonnaML

[Restitutor]

3 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

Yes, of course it should

Q

My partner always tells me sometimes my jokes don’t come across as funny as I think they are and I think in this case that may have occurred, haha. Being a Domitian fan I purposefully replaced Nerva with him to make the “5 Good Emperors” 😅🤣

[JayAg47]

Here are my 5 goodies with some extra.

[Spaniard]

11 minutes ago, Restitutor said:

My partner always tells me sometimes my jokes don’t come across as funny as I think they are and I think in this case that may have occurred, haha. Being a Domitian fan I purposefully replaced Nerva with him to make the “5 Good Emperors” 😅🤣

Ahhh OK....Cool coins!

[Restitutor]

3 hours ago, ambr0zie said:

Strange, I can't react either to the OP - it looks nobody can.

I was testing some settings out of curiosity while making this post and then stepped away for a family matter. Forgot the setting altered my ability to receive reactions... 🙈

[Alegandron]

So @DonnaML’s God theory goes out the window…

[kapphnwn]

One of the coins that I had purchased at the NYINC 2022

Nerva Billon Tetradrachm Alexandria 96-97 AD Obv. Head right laureate Rv. Eagle standing right on thunderbolt  wings folded RPC 4113 Emmett 361/1  13.42 grms 26 mm Photo by W. HansenIt is interesting how the image on the reverse of this coin evokes the image found on the reverse of Ptolemaic coins,