Doubled my Decius Double Sestertii

What could possibly be better than nice hefty Imperial sestertius? A double sestertius of course! And what could be better than a double sestertius? Hmmm... two of them?

I first learnt of these when my friend @dougsmit showed his here some years ago, and even though I managed to acquire one of these rare coins about 2 years ago, when I noticed Doug's own coin up for sale in John Anthony's most recent auction, I couldn't help but want to adopt it too. My initial thought was to sell mine if I won Doug's since though mine is in higher grade, it has a lesser pedigree, and who really needs two of these anyway. However, from initial thought to current thinking, the answer that offers itself up to the question is... uhm, me? Conversely, why Doug seems to think he doesn't need even one is quite beyond me!

Doug's pics are naturally better, but I gave it a shot anyway...


TRAJAN DECIUS
AE Double Sestertius. 32.54g, 35.8mm. Rome mint, AD 249-251. RIC 126a; Cohen 115. O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right. R: VICTORIA AVG, Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm branch; S-C across field.
Ex Doug Smith Collection

My other (note the different reverse type - yet another reason to keep it!):


TRAJAN DECIUS
AE Double Sestertius. 32.59g, 36.1mm. Rome mint, AD 250. RIC IV 115a; Cohen 39; Banti 9. O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: FELICITAS SAECVLI, Felicitas standing to left holding long caduceus and cornucopia; S-C across field.
Ex Dr C. Haymes Collection; ex Bruce R. Brace Collection

Coincidental trivia: Trajan Decius, the first Roman emperor to be killed by a foreign enemy, died this week 1,770 years ago at the Battle of Abritus. To commemorate his short but numismatically interesting reign, please show us your favorite Decius coins!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Great coins - I can see the reason to keep both!

I only have a lowly, rough antoninianus of this unfortunate fellow:

 

Glad that you got that one @zumbly ! It's a beautiful coin and I love the Victory reverse

 

Great coin. Here are two ants of Decius.



Trajan Decius, AD 249-251

AR antoninianus, 23mm, 5.2g,12h; Rome mint.

Obv.: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust to right, seen from behind.

Rev.: GENIVS EXERC ILLYRICIANI; Genius, wearing polos on head, standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae; to right, standard.

Reference: RIC 16c.
From the Theodosius Collection.

Trajan Decius A.D. 249-251
AR Antoninianus, 4.1 grams, 23 mm
Rome mint

Obverse: IMP C M Q TRAJANVS DECIVS AVG, Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right

Reverse: ABVND ANTIA AVG; Abundantia standing right, emptying cornucopiae held in both hands.

Reference: RIC IVc 10b, p. 121

 

Thanks! I'm glad you shared another neat Decius double with that two Pannoniae type. Less commonly seen is the lonely single Pannonia type...

HERENNIUS ETRUSCUS
AR Antoninianus. 3.85g, 23.9mm. Antioch mint, AD 250-251. RIC (Decius) 158 (rare). O: HEREN TRV MES Q V DECIVS CAESAR, radiate, draped bust right, •• below. R: PANONNIAE, Pannonia, veiled, draped, standing front, head right, holding helmet in right hand and standard in left hand.

Thank you! I have a feeling for you what might trump a double sestertius with a Victory reverse is a double sestertius with a double Victory reverse. Well, they made those too!


POSTUMUS
AE Double Sestertius. 9.85g, 27mm. Atelier II, AD 261-263. Bastien 152; RIC 166; Sear 11069; Cohen 407. O: IMP C M CASS LAT POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: VIC[TORIAE A]VG, two Victories standing face to face, attaching shield to palm tree, captives seated left and right below, S C in exergue.

 

How you gonna do that to me?? lol
Teasing me with things I can only stare at through the shop window and drool

 

My Decius common Dacia Antoninanus


RIC IV Trajan Decius 12b
Trajan Decius AD 249-251. Rome Antoninianus AR 21 mm., 2,28 g.
Date Range: AD 249 - AD 251
Obverse Legend: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG
Type: Bust of Trajan Decius, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right
Reverse Legend: DACIA; Type: Dacia, draped in long robe reaching feet, standing left holding staff topped with a wolf's head (Draco)

 

zumbly, Selling the T. Decius/Felicitas bronze would be a mistake. The coin has great detail & a lovely patina . Pictured below are a few of my T. Decius provincial Tets from Antioch, Syria.

 

Excellent pair of doubles, Z! I'm glad you're keeping both. Hopefully I'll manage to snag one someday, but in the meantime I'll show some bronzes on the wee side of the spectrum:

Dupondius:


Semis:

 

I feel guilty sticking a friend with a coin I regret buying but Coin Talk has made a condition snob out of me. I did not expect it to sell since some of my better items got no bids. I'm not sure I am in the hobby anymore. I still like the coins I considered part of my specialty but intend to cut back on the ones I bought because I thought I need them. I hope someone wants the semis.

My favorite Decius coin is the antoninianus overstruck on a denarius of Geta. I like weird coins.


Similarly, I like my 'thin' AE sestertius? that weighs only 11.2g. Was it the last blank poured and the ladle was running out? Was this a dupondius flan struck with sestertius dies? I don't know. Are the Victory reverse coins (like the double) lighter than others? I bought it from a 'good' dealer in 1989.

 

Those are some fine provincial tets! I especially like that first one.

Great dupondius, Sev. I'm often impressed by the quality of the engraving on Decius's portraits. They're surely some of the finest made during this period.


TRAJAN DECIUS
AE Dupondius. 12.53g, 24.5mm. Rome mint, AD 249-251. RIC 120c (scarce); Cohen 72. O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right. R: LIBERALITAS AVG, Liberalitas standing front, head to left, holding counting-board in her right hand and cornucopiae with her left; S-C in field.
Ex G.G. Collection

This year has made me feel pretty out of the hobby too, but the occasional win like your double sestertius helps.

I'm not sure if the Victory reverses are any lighter than the others (my Felicitas double sest is about the same weight as yours), but my heavyset Dacia sestertius is 2.5x the weight of your Victory.


TRAJAN DECIUS
AE Sestertius. 28.32g, 32.7mm. Rome mint, AD 249-250. RIC 112a (scarce); Cohen 18. O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right. R: DACIA, Dacia standing left holding staff surmounted by a wolf-like head (draco); S-C in field.
Ex Behnen Collection (acquired from Coin Galleries, 24 June 1966)

 

Phillip I Antoninianus
Rome Mint 247-249
RIC 62
4.28 g. 24 mm

Reverse:
FIDES EXERCITVS, four standards, one of which is a legionary eagle.

 

I don’t have a double sestertius of Trajan Decius, but here’s my best Decius ant.

23mm, 4.42 G
RIC IV (III) 11B

 

A decent TD double sestertius is on my list, as well as other denominations, as I would like to built a denomination set of his, to pair the Divi series

I will not show again the Divi series all of you have already seen ad nauseam, but rather a tremendous (to my eyes) antoninianus and a semis






Q

 

Q, I love your Decius Divi series - fantastic set and an incredible collecting achievement! I really like the semis too... it has an excellent portrait for a bronze fraction. Unlike your Dacia antoninianus, mine only has one good side, but I'm very fond of it nevertheless.


TRAJAN DECIUS
AR Antoninianus. 4.91g, 21.4mm. Rome mint, AD 249-250. RIC 12b; Cohen 16. O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: DACIA, Dacia standing left holding staff topped with a wolf-like head (Draco).

 

zumbly, Wonderful portrait on that coin ! The engraver captured a smile on that coin .

 

Here is my double sestertius next to a photo I took of the Trajan Decius bust in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.



I have commented on CT several times about the fact that when busts are found they usually do not come identified. We use coins, where the portraits are identified, to identify the busts. Many times the busts come with their noses are broken off and then the restorer uses coin profiles to decide how the nose should look when restored. This whole process is subject to error. You can imagine it would be more impressive to find and publish a bust of Galba than of some unknown Roman Republican senator. I had my doubts about the bust in the OP of this thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ga...not-so-beautiful-emperor.380859/#post-7603208

I do not have any doubts about the bust of Trajan Decius. If you go to Rome, be sure to allot time for the hall of imperial busts in the Capitoline Museum. It's wonderful!

 

That's an excellent double sestertius, and the portrait is truly a spitting image of that on the Capitoline Museum bust.

 

I've always wanted a double sestertius as a representative example, but they're really expensive!

Instead I settle for the provincial "sestertius" of Viminacium and Dacia. Two of these equals one double sestertius, perhaps?