Although it may had not been called in the Rasenna language as a Sestertius, it was tariffed at 2-1/2 Asses, which was a fourth of a 10-As Denarius. My Favorite “Sestertius” Rasenna, Fufluna, (Etruria, Populonia) 2 ½ asses , AR 0.85 g 3rd century BC Obv: Radiate female head r.; behind, IIC (Retrograde) Rev: Blank. Ref: EC 104 (misdescribed, Female head with an Attic helmet). Historia Numorum Italy 179. NAC Comment: Of the highest rarity, apparently only the second specimen known. Dark patina and about very fine. Ex: From the collection of E.E. Clain-Stefanelli E.E. CLAIN-STEFANELLI DIES ANS Executive Director Ute Wartenburg reported that Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli died Oct. 1, 2001 of cardiac arrest. Mrs. Stefanelli retired in 2000 as the Senior Curator of the National Numismatic Collection in the Numismatics Division of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. She was at the Smithsonian for forty years, and was responsible with her husband Vladimir for organizing and building up the National Numismatic Collection. She survived a Nazi concentration camp in WWII Europe, moved to Rome, and learned numismatics there. In New York she and her husband worked for Stack's and started the Coin Galleries division there
This was a gift from Ken Dorney in one of his Christmas giveaways. I loved @TIF ’s idea of a “travel sestertius”, so this one has traveled the world with me, which makes it my most prized (not that I have many to choose from ).
Apparently provincials aren't considered Sesterii, but when am I ever going to be afford a real sestertius...
Sometimes just holding a very large ancient coin in hand allows you to appreciate what it is, dismiss its faults...and enjoy its history. We can also wonder how this amazing artifact survived for us to enjoy.. how lucky are we? 35mm and 30.75 grams..
Sestertii will aways fetch a multitude of the price of a Denarius or Antoninianus of the same Emperor in the same grade of conservation, just because so very few AE coins have survived centuries of circulation and in the ground intact. There are only a handful of true FDC Sestertii known today, compared to thousands of Denaii. None of my bonzes would even qualify as EF, even though this is a most common grade for silver coins. Nevertheless, I would not trade my Sestertii against better preseved silver coins. They just have something majestic about them. I especially like the 3rd century portrait art. Here are Macrinus, Maximinus Thrax, Paulina and Gordian I:
Interesting. I've seemingly never noticed that Etruscan writing was written from right to left, or that they invented the letter 'F' as 8. Cool. Learn something new everyday.
Hi Greg, I just noticed that your Paulina (Banti 1 / Alram 38d-5 with 52 specimens listed by Banti, 44 by Alram, and 70 in my own die study) is from the same obverse die as my Sestertius shown above and that it shares it´s reverse die with that of our CT friend Bing.
Amazing! And I have serious coin envy after seeing your sestertii! I’m a one-per-ruler collector & i haven’t paid too much attention to whether it’s bronze, silver or gold (I’ll even settle for provincial) - as long as I have one coin of every ruler. But seeing the magnificence of sestertii I might have to end up collecting one-per-ruler in both bronze and silver! (Gold seems slightly out of reach for me - except 4th/5th century solidi, but by that time in history, the portrait art is pretty generic)
Looking at those beauties one can understand why sestertii are considered as kings of roman coinage. My most expensive, and most beautiful (to my eyes) sestertii Q
Not particularly beautiful but another BM die duplicate (BMCRE 189; website R.15840). Septimius Severus, AD 193-211. Æ Sestertius (30mm, 19.76g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 210. Obv: L SEPT SEVERVS PIVS AVG; Laureate head right, Rev: P M TR P XVIII COS III P P; Septimius Severus standing left in military dress, holding Victory on extended right hand and vertical scepter in left hand; he is crowned by Virtus standing left behind him, holding transverse spear in left hand, S - C low in left and right fields. Ref: RIC 797var; BMCRE 189.
This little guy is the real AR Roman Sestertius that started it all... AR SESTERTIUS of the ROMAN REPUBLIC Roman Republic AR Sestertius After 211 BCE 12mm 1.0g Rome mint Roma right, IIS behind - (denomination of 2 (II) Asses and a Semis - 2-1/2 Asses = 1/4 of a Denarius) (Until approx 140 BCE it was 10 Asses to a Denarius. Later it became 16 Asses to a Denarius) Dioscuri riding stars in ex ROMA Sear 46 Craw 44-7 RSC 4
This is an impossible task for me - I dearly love all my (mostly Julio-Claudian) Sestertii and I really am at a loss how to apply a ranking or ascribe monetary worth to any of them. So I will post a few in a series of posts. Here are a couple to start with: Sestertius, RIC Vol. I, Rome, No. 112, 50-54AD (36mm, 28.2gm) Obverse depiction: Claudius, bare neck laureate bust, facing right Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP PP Reverse depiction: Civic Oak Wreath Inscription in four lines: EX SC P P OB CIVES SERVATOS (within Civic wreath) RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 99 41-50 AD, (36mm, 25.3gm) Obverse depiction: Claudius, bare neck laureate bust, facing right Inscription clockwise from bottom: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP Reverse depiction: Personification of Spes holding flower in right hand and demurely raising skirt with left hand Inscription clockwise from bottom: SPES AVGVSTA - S C (exergue)
RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 109, 42-43 AD (38mm, 28.0gm) BMCRE, Vol1, No. 208, Plate 36-8 Obverse depiction: Nero Claudius Drusus, bare head facing left Inscription: NERO CLAVDIVS DRVSVS GERMANICVS IMP Reverse depiction: Claudius seated left on curule chair holding olive branch, weapons and armor beneath Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP PP - S C (exergue)