Just ran across this on reddit and thought you would all like to see it. Here are a few pictures: Reddit link Alscae Archelogy Homepage (in French)
I was hoping to see some other member's sestertii I don't have any nearly as nice as the one that was cleaned up from the find or @Roman Collector. Basically, I'm asking other members here to feed my fix
Very cool. I just wonder if any of those coins will make it to the collector market. How do antiquities laws in France apply to this find?
Happy to oblige. Here are three from my collection: Nero Caesar, A.D. 50-54 Augustus, A.D. 54-68 Bronze Sestertius Lugdunum mint, A.D. 66-68 Obv: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TR P PP Rev: SECVRITAS AVGVSTI - Securitas, seated on throne, and holding scepter; lighted altar in front of her; SC in exergue RIC 597 (corrected) 31mm, 11.5g. Lucilla Augusta, A.D. 164-182/3 Bronze Sestertius Rome mint Obv: LVCILLA AVGVSTA Rev: IVNO REGINA - Juno, veiled, standing, facing left, holding patera and scepter, peacock at feet, between S and C RIC (Marcus Aurelius) 1751 32x29mm, 23.1g. Balbinus Augustus, A.D. 238 Bronze Sestertius Rome mint, A.D. 238 Obv: IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG Rev: CONCORDIA AVGG - Concordia seated, facing left, holding patera and cornucopia. SC in exergue. RIC 22 28mm, 19.8g.
When I was a young collector even more impoverished than today, it was common to see dealers with boxes of low end sestertii mostly worn but easily identifiable. In the 1960's these might be fifty cents to $2 in pickout pots. Perhaps the seller thought selling them would be a gateway drug to hook me on the $50 stuff. Today the $50 stuff may be $500 but I rarely see the $5 to $20 sestertii. When I do see pick groups, the coins tend to be tiny, late and corroded rather than sestertii. The market supply or demand for gateway drugs has changed. I sold off all my early pickout bronzes long ago but I can show a few lesser sestertii that I still appreciate. To my current standards, these are collectible. I no longer buy very worn common reverses of common emperors but they exist somewhere unless they were melted for the copper. I wonder where they are. Nero Trajan Septimius Severus Julia Domna another Julia Domna but later and nearly one sided due to striking - If the reverse were as nice as the obverse, I could not have bought the coin. Tolerating little problems like nails can even make a high grade Gordian III sestertius quite reasonable.
@dougsmit those are all really great. Thanks for sharing! The last Baltimore show I went to, I only saw one guy who had a small box of pretty worn examples but they were ~$20. I'm hoping that maybe FFIVN and I can find something at the show in November.
Coll find. Thanks for showing your find from your late-nite trolling! I do not have many Sestertii... but here are a few: Roman Republic AR Sestertius After 211 BCE 12mm 1.0g Rome mint Roma r IIS - Dioscuri riding stars in ex ROMA Sear 46 Craw 44-7 RSC 4 Roman Republic AR Sestertius vs Empire AE Sestertius Marcus Aurelius 161-180AD RI Paulina w Maximinus I D before CE 235 AE sestertius 30.77mm 19.66g 2nd emiss of Maximinus I CE 236 Peacock RIC IV 3 RARE RI Pertinax 193 BC AE Sestertius rome mint LAETITIA RIC 17 C 21 RI Maximinus Thrax JUNIOR 236-238 AE Sestertius Rome mint priestly emblems RI Galba AE Sestertius SPQR - O.B - CIV.SER in Wreath RI Didius Julianus 193 CE - 9 weeks - AE Sestertius
Great post. I'm crazy about both hoards and low-grade sestertii. 30 years ago or so my local dealer used to sell "bin" sestertii for around $25 and as I recall they were not that awful. But I only collected silver in those days of my foolish youth. I am always on the hunt for doggy sestertii on eBay - here is what a $6.70 Lucilla looks like (it came in a Littleton Coin flip, so I'd bet it cost more than that originally): Lucilla Æ Sestertius (164-169 A.D.) Rome Mint LVCILLA AVGVSTA, draped bust r. / [F]E[C]VN[DITAS] S-C, Fecunditas seated right, nursing (?) child in arms, two children at feet. RIC 1736; Cohen 21. (21.27 grams / 27 x 24 mm)
Pretty nice examples folks. My first sestertius was a Phillip I type with Annona reverse for $45, bought back around 1980. Unfortunately I no longer have the coin. Here is my worst bronze piece (Postumus double sestertius) still was $110 though. Sort of a weird, late example of a sestertius-type coin right before they stopped minting them. Here's another example of a late sestertius that's for sale currently, Gallienus (my current avatar)...it's going for less than $1,000.
This is my nicest looking sestertius: Marcus Aurelius AE Sestertius Obverse: M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXXII, laureate head right Reverse: IMP VIIII COS III PP SC, Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae
Sorry I didn't find those sestertii in Alsace.... @furryfrog02 here are some sestertii of mine for your pleasure, Sir : Q
Those are great @Cucumbor ! I also have an Antoninus Pius like yours...only not nearly as nice. In fact is is basically just a piece of junk metal at this point.
This is the only Sestertius that I have a pic of. I tried to take some pics just now of my others but the pics are horrible.
This Sestertius of Alexander Severus was neither found in Alsace nor in Lorraine. The Roman god of war told me this. Cohen 262.
These are all pretty nice - the Septimius Severus is rare - this is the first one I have ever seen - you got this in a pickup jar? Jeez, things have changed - I just bought a rare Septimius Severus in worse condition for quite a bit more - shows you that knowledge can be key in buying ancient coins and there are still finds out there even in this time of limited numbers of coins for sale.
On that Nero piece, you have the weight as 11.5 grams. You might want to reweigh that or check what is probably a typo. Otherwise it might be an As rather than a sestertius.
This does not seem to be a hoard in the sense of hiding the coins from barbarian marauders. Sounds to me like the spot was used by a family as a repository to keep the family savings in a safe spot until it would be needed. What happened to the family? Possibly all dead of one of the plagues that seem to have ben making the rounds from the time of Marcus Aurelius on into the Third Century.
Thanks for pointing this out. I weighed again and it came out 11.5g. So I checked RIC, and it's a dupondius. I'll need to change that on my web site.
