Perhaps second in infamy only to Caligula, Nero is also one who was not cut out to be an emperor.  More of an artist at heart, Nero struggled to balance his personal desire with those of the empire.  Famous for wanting to be an actor or a musician, the last thing Nero wanted was control of the political machinations of Rome.

This bronze coin is special in that it depicts the Temple of Janus with its doors closed.  Tradition held that, according to Plutarch, who wrote in 100AD that: " Janus also has a temple at Rome with double doors, which they call the gates of war; for the temple always stands open in time of war, but is closed when peace has come." 

So on the plus side, Nero was able to briefly claim that the empire was at peace.  Unfortunately his reign would end in assassination and the beginning of the Year of the Four Emperors.

So let's just say Galba didn't last very long.  The first of the Year of the Four Emperors, Galba seized control after the assassination of Nero, but as already hinted, there were others who also wanted to be emperor.  

This sestertius (the first one on this list!), was probably stuck very soon after he assumed the purple.  As you can tell by the bust on the left, Galba was not a young man (he was around 70 years old), and apparently he surrounded himself with corrupt advisors who convinced him to execute many soldiers who they claimed were disloyal. Furthermore Galba decided to withhold money from the troops (not a wise move).  

He was himself executed under the orders of Otho, who'd been his righthand man, but who Galba had passed over when he named another man as his heir.  Otho then promised the Praetorian Guard lots of cash if they put Galba's head on a pike (which they promptly did), and soon Otho proclaimed himself emperor.

Vitellius seized control of the empire from Otho on the strength of his legions he'd commanded in the north.  But that hold on power did not last long, because out in the Middle East another commander named Vespasian had dreams of seeing himself at the head of the empire, too.

While this isn't the loveliest of coins, the reverse apparently calls attention to Vitellius' role as a member of the quindecimviri sacris faciundis.  The group of 15 was in charge of guarding the Sibylline Books, and hosting both the secular games, and the games of Apollo.  The dolphin and raven are symbols of Apollo, while the tripod represents the oracle at Delphi.

The Year of the Four Emperors finally came to an end when Vespasian, hot off his victories in Judea, was convinced by those around him that HE should be the new emperor, not Vitellius.  Ironically, Vespasian never faced Vitellius in battle.  Instead Vespasian's allies took care of the emperor while he was subduing Egypt.  In fact, it took several months for Vespasian to even reach Rome after the Senate had declared him the new emperor.

This coin minted at Antioch references the success Vespasian and his son, Titus, had in crushing the Jewish revolt of around this time.  While Vespasian went off to seize the empire, he left his son behind to besiege and then sack Jerusalem. 

Titus would eventually succeed his father after the family brought stability to Rome, and thus we have the Flavian Dynasty.

Titus followed his father into the emperorship. and by all accounts was an excellent ruler.  Why his father was in charge, Titus had a pretty shaky reputation, but once he took over, he led Rome solidly for about two years.  When Vesuvius erupted in 79 BC, it was Titus who coordinated relief efforts, and it was under his oversight that the Colosseum was completed.

The Flavian Amphitheatre, better know as the Colosseum, is what the reverse of this coin is referring to.  It's grand opening lasted for 100 days and featured wild animals from around the empire, such as elephants as pictured here.  It also of course had gladiators, naval battles, chariot races and so on, and some coins were minted to celebrate this occasion.  So while I realize this coin doesn't sport the absolute best portrait of Titus, it does have a cool backstory behind it.

After the Colosseum's opening celebrations died down, Titus got sick and died, too.  His younger brother, Domitian, took the reigns and continued the family's dynasty.  Unfortunately, history records Domitian as having a mixed bag of results.  While popular with the people, he continually butted heads with the Senate.  His reign lasted 15 years, but it ended in assassination, which also ended the Flavian dynasty.

This denarius is very typical of Domitian's coinage.  He aligned himself closely with the goddess Minerva, who represented wisdom and warfare.  He named a legion after her, and even had a shrine to Minerva in his bedroom.  With all that, my one Domitian coin had to feature her, right?  And her owl.

Once the Senate got Domitian out of the way, they turned to Nerva, who'd been a politician since the time of Nero and was seen as a steady force who could make the emperor's role less authoritarian.  Also since he was already an old man and was childless, perhaps the Senate thought they saw a way to end imperial dynasties.

This As of Emperor Nerva holds a special place for me because it is the very first ancient roman coin I ever bought.  I was amazed at the time that you could buy something this old and actually own a piece of history.  So while not a beautiful coin, it's still one I'll never part with.