Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
New Octavian / Divus Julius bronze: CAESAR DIVI FILIUS
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Julius Germanicus, post: 4579272, member: 80783"]David Sear in the Millenium Edition of his “Roman Coins and their Values” (p. 302, Nr. 1569 and 1570) explicitly presents these coins as “<i>Bronze Sestertius (or dupondius?)</i>” after calling them “<i>Bronze Sestertius or Dupondius</i>” in his “The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators (p. 189, Nr. 308 and p. 190, Nr. 309) where he continues “… <i>these handsome bronzes of Octavian bear no indication of their denomination. Grueber calls them sestertii whilst Amandry considers them to be dupondii. Either could be correct. The weight standard appears to be between 19 and 20 grams</i>”</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>My coin at 19,73 gr falls right into Sear´s range and would not even be unusually light for an Augustan orichalcum Sestertius (which rarely reached their target weight of an Uncia or or 27,3 gr) while even 17,53 gr would be way too heavy for any Dupondius of Augustus (whose Lugdunum Asses averaged about 13 gr).</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I wrote that I would call it a <i>Proto-Sestertius</i> as the term “Sestertius” would be anachronistic.</p><p><br /></p><p>The only coins termed as Sestertii at the time were the tiny silver Sestertii of the earlier Republic and the large fleet coinage bronzes (labelled "HS").</p><p>However, the silver Sestertius had long fallen out of use while Anthony´s new design with it´s two portraits facing each other was as short-lived as it´s originator.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was Octavian´s DIVOS JULIUS emission that formed the bulk of the large bronze coins in circulation for the next decades, while the familiar Nemausus As (or Dupondius, depending on the material) became the major small bronze coin in use in the western half of the Empire.</p><p>When the orichalcum Sestertius was introduced by Augustus, I would suggest that it was this coinage that it slowly replaced while the new Asses and Dupondii replaced the Nemausus Asses or Dupondii.</p><p><br /></p><p>By the third century the 19 to 20 grams of the DIVOS JULIUS coinage would be the average weight and the OP coin´s 30 mm diameter the average size of the Sestertius denomination which by then also featured the very same reddish copper tone. In every aspect it was equal to a Sestertius at least by then.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was therefore anachronistic by being ahead of it's time.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Your coin proves that this cannot have been intended as a Dupondius <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Julius Germanicus, post: 4579272, member: 80783"]David Sear in the Millenium Edition of his “Roman Coins and their Values” (p. 302, Nr. 1569 and 1570) explicitly presents these coins as “[I]Bronze Sestertius (or dupondius?)[/I]” after calling them “[I]Bronze Sestertius or Dupondius[/I]” in his “The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators (p. 189, Nr. 308 and p. 190, Nr. 309) where he continues “… [I]these handsome bronzes of Octavian bear no indication of their denomination. Grueber calls them sestertii whilst Amandry considers them to be dupondii. Either could be correct. The weight standard appears to be between 19 and 20 grams[/I]” My coin at 19,73 gr falls right into Sear´s range and would not even be unusually light for an Augustan orichalcum Sestertius (which rarely reached their target weight of an Uncia or or 27,3 gr) while even 17,53 gr would be way too heavy for any Dupondius of Augustus (whose Lugdunum Asses averaged about 13 gr). I wrote that I would call it a [I]Proto-Sestertius[/I] as the term “Sestertius” would be anachronistic. The only coins termed as Sestertii at the time were the tiny silver Sestertii of the earlier Republic and the large fleet coinage bronzes (labelled "HS"). However, the silver Sestertius had long fallen out of use while Anthony´s new design with it´s two portraits facing each other was as short-lived as it´s originator. It was Octavian´s DIVOS JULIUS emission that formed the bulk of the large bronze coins in circulation for the next decades, while the familiar Nemausus As (or Dupondius, depending on the material) became the major small bronze coin in use in the western half of the Empire. When the orichalcum Sestertius was introduced by Augustus, I would suggest that it was this coinage that it slowly replaced while the new Asses and Dupondii replaced the Nemausus Asses or Dupondii. By the third century the 19 to 20 grams of the DIVOS JULIUS coinage would be the average weight and the OP coin´s 30 mm diameter the average size of the Sestertius denomination which by then also featured the very same reddish copper tone. In every aspect it was equal to a Sestertius at least by then. It was therefore anachronistic by being ahead of it's time. Your coin proves that this cannot have been intended as a Dupondius :)[/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
New Octavian / Divus Julius bronze: CAESAR DIVI FILIUS
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...