My first Sestertius

A wonderful problem free coin! If you're only going to have one that's a great choice. Congrats!

 

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Nice coins, the brass sestertii are nice to hold and big enough to have detailed portraits and reverse designs. I think my first sestertius is this one:

Sestertius of Antoninus Pius (Caesar)
Obv. IMP T AELIVS CAESAR ANTONINVS - Bare head right
Rev. TRIB POT COS S-C, PIETAS - Pietas standing left, holding box of incense and raising hand above altar
Mint: Rome (138 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 27.79g / 34mm / 6h
References:

• RIC 2743 (Hadrian) (new RIC II.3)
• BMC 1943
• Cohen 604
• RIC 1083a (Hadrian) (old RIC II)

Acquisition/Sale: Harlan J Berk eBay 23-Nov-2006



The most recent sestertius arrival is this RR silver one:

Sestertius of T. Carisius
Obv. Diademed bust of Diana right, bow and quiver over shoulder
Rev. T. CAR - Hound running right
Mint: Rome (46 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 0.95g / 10mm / 10h
References:

• RSC 7 (Carisia)
• Sydenham 989
• Crawford 464/8a
• HCRI 76
• RBW 1621

Provenances:

• Ex. Gemini Sale X, 2013, lot 227
• Ex. Randy Haviland Collection

Acquisition/Sale: NAC Online auction Spring Sale 2020 #660 20-May-2020




ATB,
Aidan.

 

This was my first sestertius. I fell in love with its smooth black patina and it resulted in a lifelong Faustina fascination!


Faustina Senior, AD 138-141.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 24.57 g, 32.0 mm.
Rome, AD 147-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Vesta veiled, standing left, holding palladium and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1124; BMCRE 1519; RCV 4617.

 

Donna, Congrats on your sestertius addition . The coin fits in well with your Roman zoo .

 

Nice coin with an image of an emperor who is determined to see Rome celebrate its 1000th anniversary and the successful inauguration of the next millennium.

 

I've got a bunch. Here's Balbinus, who lasted on the throne only 3 months...

Balbinus. AD 238.

Æ Sestertius, 33mm, 22.9g, 12h; Rome mint. 1st emission.

Obv.: IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.

Rev.: CONCORDIA AVGG; Concordia seated left, holding patera and double cornucopia; S C in exergue.

Reference: RIC IVb 22, p. 171.

 

Very nice coin Donna. Once you start to collect sestertii it's hard to stop. When I first started collecting over 30 years ago, the first dealer I ever dealt with suggested collecting As's and dupondii (middle bronzes) which I did. He felt that this was untapped potential for finding Roman coins in those denominations in very good condition at much more reasonable prices and selling later at a greater profit. Well, it didn't work out that way and the dealer apologized later for the bad advice. After I sold the middle bronzes I started to collect sestertii. I was hooked after that. Here's a sestertius from a period that was getting close to that denomination going away.




Trebonianus Gallus (Augustus)
Coin: Brass Sestertius
IMP CAES C VIBIVS TREBONIANVS GALLVS AVG - Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind
LIBERTAS AVG-G, S C - Libertas standing left, holding pileus in extended right hand and long sceptre in left hand.
Exergue:



Mint: Rome (251-253 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 19.50g / 30mm / 12h
References:
RIC 114a
Hunter 31
Cohen 64
Acquisition/Sale: taterthecat Ebay $0.00 10/18
Notes: Oct 9, 18 - The Gary R. Wilson Collection

 

..a very nice one Donna...i didn't get my 1st either until i joined CT and was influenced by our great members here, along with their coins...they widened fields, open doors while at the same time caused focus ... Lucilla Sestertius

 

I love the large and hefty Julio-Claudians:


RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 109, 42-43AD (38mm, 28.0gm)
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)
Nero Claudius Drusus was the father of Claudius and this coin pays homage to him as a great warrior on the northern frontier who Claudius wished to emulate.



RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 112, 50-54AD (36mm, 28.2gm)

Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head 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 wreath)
This coin commemorates the success of Claudius in subjugating Britain and adding it to the Empire. The reverse commemorates the Senate designating him Pater Patriae (Father of the Country) and exalted servant of the people of Rome.

 

My sestertii:

 

Thanks so much to all of you for your compliments on my new sestertius, and especially to @Victor_Clark for having such a nice coin available at such a reasonable price! Also, many thanks to those of you who posted their own "first sestertii" -- they're all wonderful -- and tried to lure me into buying more! My reason for limiting myself to one sestertius -- at least for now; I'll put that caveat on it! -- has nothing to do with lack of interest. It's that right now my eyes are bigger than my budget; I've been trying to limit myself to buying coins that are less than $200 or so each. And it's very hard to find really nice sestertii with that limitation. I know, of course, that in theory I could buy one very nice sestertius for $450 and simply forego the next three $150 coins I would otherwise buy at that time. But knowing myself as I do -- and that I don't have the strongest willpower when it comes to refraining from buying coins I really want! -- I'm pretty sure that what would happen would be that I'd buy the sestertius for $450, and end up buying those next three $150 coins anyway.

Plus, even apart from the monetary aspect, I know from reading posts in this forum for the last 4 1/2 months since I joined that it's not at all unusual for unscrupulous or uninformed sellers to offer sestertii with considerable smoothing and, worse, tooling. That doesn't seem to happen so much with denarii and other silver coins, assuming that they're genuine in the first place. And I don't necessarily trust myself to detect smoothing or tooling unless they're really obvious.

 

Nice Sestertius @DonnaML one to be proud of for sure.


I had a really nice Sestertius of Phillip I
with the Elephant reverse same as the ones
posted here. I had found it metal detecting
and had a beautiful green patina. I have kicked
my self for selling it many times when I fell on
hard times plus a lot of other coins I had found.
I have been looking for one for quite some time
that will fill some of the emptiness.

 

Believe me, I know what it feels like to have to sell coins one loves during times of financial difficulty. I still think about some of the wonderful British coins and historical medals I had to sell about five years ago during a period of prolonged unemployment. It was very painful, but I did have to pay my rent!

 

Here are a couple of my Sestertius

 

That' a fierce looking stag @DonnaML
But I don't think it will be long before you add another sestertius to your collection : it's very addictive stuff !

Here are Philip's family members in big bronze







Q

 

@DonnaML, a nice Philipp I with Northern Elk. As I have shared my first sestertius (Valerian) already a few times, here is my last sestertius i.e. most recent, as I could certainly consider another. A large lump of bronze - the sestertius is always an impressive coin in hand. Lucilla was 15 when this coin was issued, the year of her marriage to Lucius Verus. She would be widowed by age 20, AD 169 - the last year coins are likely to have been issued for her. "M ANTONINI" obverse legend is used to date 164.

Lucilla, Augusta, AD 164-182, Æ Sestertius, Rome AD 164
Obv: LVCILLAE AVG - M ANTONINI AVG F Bust of Lucilla, hair waved and fastened in a low chignon at back of head, draped, right
Rev: VENVS S - C Venus, draped, seated left, holding non-winged Victory in extended right hand and sceptre in left hand
Size: 32mm, 25.12g
Ref: Sear 5508, RIC 1776
Note: this is an example where cross-references can be imprecise - Sear references RIC 1773 with entry 5508, but there are several variants described in RIC e.g. this one with winged victory is 1776.

 

I know what you mean by willpower. When it comes to coins, mine seems to go out the window. I also try to stay within a modest price range, under $200 but when a sestertius comes up for sale that you have been waiting for, well modesty goes out the window. Here's a recent example which I posted recently. I got this from London Ancient Coins off of VCoins at a price under $500-yeah way over my budget. But I knew if I didn't get this coin, I would be kicking myself for quite some time because at the price they had it at I felt it wouldn't last long. Sometimes I look at coins for sale with one eye closed, which does no good.





Agrippina I (Augusta)
Coin: Brass Sestertius
AGRIPPINA M F GERMANICI CAESARIS - Draped bust right.
TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P around large SC. - Legend surrounding large S C
Mint: Rome (42-43 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 26.59g / 38mm / 6h
Rarity: Common
References:
RIC I 102 [Claudius]
BMC 219
Cohen 3
von Kaenel Type 78
BnF II Claudius 236
Provenances:
London Ancient Coins (LAC)
Acquisition/Sale: London Ancient Coins (LAC) VCoins $0.00 04/20
Notes: Apr 5, 20 - The Gary R. Wilson Collection.

 

That is a great Sestertius, Gary - congratulations! I would have bought it in a heartbeat - nicely centered and with a wonderful patina. Oh, and superb lettering!!

PS via Edit: Please keep me in mind if you feel the need to sell it - no bad karma intended

 

That's a very nice sestertius, Donna - nicely centered and very good detail.

I don't remember what my first sestertius was, but I am pretty sure I no longer have it, gone through the mists of time.