Western Roman Empire. Julius Nepos. 474-475 AD. Obverse: D N IVL NEPOS P F AVG. Helmeted, pearl-diademed and cuirassed bust facing three-quarters right, holding spear and shield; the shield decorated with a horseman trampling a fallen foe. Reverse: VICTORIA AVGGG. Victory standing left, holding a long jewelled cross; in left and right fields, A – R. In exergue, COMOB. Arles mint. RIC X 3223

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Julius Nepos ( 474–475 AD ) is regarded as the last constitutionally legitimate ruler of the Western Empire, acknowledged by both Eastern and Western courts after the division of the Roman Empire under Theodosius almost a century earlier.

As Magister Militum (Master of Soldiers) in the province of Dalmatia—modern-day Croatia—Nepos was appointed by the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I to depose Glycerius, a rival who claimed the Western Empire. 

In June 474 AD, Nepos was crowned emperor with the support of Leo’s successor Zeno after defeating and exiling Glycerius to Salona. 

During his brief reign, Nepos attempted to restore the Western Empire; however, he was soon overthrown by his own magister militum, Orestes, who appointed his young son, Romulus Augustus, as emperor. Romulus is remembered as the last Roman emperor to rule Italy before the fall of Rome in 476 AD. 

By 480 AD, Nepos, living in exile in Dalmatia, maintained his constitutional legitimacy as the true Western Emperor. Unable to secure the support needed from the East to reclaim his throne, his own generals assassinated him, with some attributing it to the involvement of his former rival, Glycerius.