During the first and second centuries, the women of the imperial family of the Roman Empire had a difficult role to play. Far beyond being just wives, mothers, daughters or other various relations of the emperor, from a political point of view, they were effective tools in manipulating public opinion and in expressing the policies and the political messages of the Augustus. However, they were just that: tools. For the most part, and there are a few exceptions to this, they had no political power of their own. Because of this, the emperors could control how, and why, the images of these women appeared in the art of the empire. One of the most important forms these images appeared in was in the imperial coinage. This form reached the most people, displayed the message most clearly, and was the least expensive to produce, so the messages and images pressed on them were carefully thought out and were of great importance in presenting the political propaganda of the emperor. Several examples of the roles women played in the coinage can be seen in an Aureus of Nero from 54, a Sestertius of Trajan from 112, a Sestertius of Antoninus Pius from 160, and an As of Septimius Severus from 202.
The Aureus of Nero was minted in 54, soon after his appointment as emperor, and the imagery on it makes this apparent. On the obverse are the portraits of the young Nero and his mother, Agrippina the Younger. Surrounding them is the inscription NERO CLAVD DIVI F CAES AVG GERM IMP TR P COS, which proclaims Nero to be the son of the deified Claudius and gives his various imperial posts. This imagery is continued on the reverse where the gods Claudius and Augustus are depicted riding in an elephant drawn chariot. On this side the inscription reads AGRIPP AVG DIVI CLAVD NERONIS CAES MATER EX S C, which gives Agrippina's title as the wife of the divine Claudius and the mother of Nero, and proclaims that the coin was minted by decree of the senate.
