Hi all, I've been meaning to delve deeper into my favourite roman denomination, the sestertius. As some of you are way more experienced than I am, are there any definite works that I should pickup? Looking for something truly comprehensive, failing that maybe something more towards specific emperors and their sestertii. Suggestions are most welcome! zadie
Cut from my reply the last time this was asked. Is a set worth over $1000? I Grandi bronzi imperiali by Alberto Banti is 9 thin books numbered as 4 volumes showing sestertii and medallions but not smaller AE or other metals. The format places two coins per page with much white space and liberal use of 'like the above' in Italian and actual size images cut from auction catalogs which vary widely in quality. A few rare items are shown as line drawings when the author failed to find a sale for the coin. I only bought one book (IV-1) which includes Septimius through Diadumenian. I bought mine for $131.39 from NFA in 1992 and consider it one of the lesser bargains in my coin career. While the book is primarily in Italian, it has English subtitles and is fully useable by those with no Italian language skills. I am perhaps a bit hard on books illustrated with clip art. The listing is by Cohen and adds little information except for an occasional note, for example, pointing out which ones are known also as Cavinos. In 1992, books like this seemed important to me but the online resources available today from dealers like CNG and compilations like acsearch make the book now seem more of a collectible itself rather than a item for daily reference.
I acquired the 3 volume set Los Sestercios Del Imperio Romano by Juan Cayon last week via a private arrangement. A few sets have been in auction lately and were bid up strongly. I haven't really studied them yet. The photos of the coins are acceptable but could be better. Like you, zadie, I have become interested in sestertii recently and am interested in acquiring a couple Roman Empress examples. I need to improve my limited Spanish. Have fun.
As an almost exclusive Sestertius collector, I am happy to now have Banti´s "I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali" complete and the first two volumes of Cayon´s "Los Sestercios del Imperio Romano". Both are rare because they are essentially a self-published one man´s work. One should add that neither author was able to finish his opus magnum. Alberto Banti had planned a total of 12 books but passed away before he managed to release volumes I-1 to I-3 which would have covered the Sestertii of the 12 Caesars (Vol. II-1, the last completed, starts with Nerva). Cayon never got past his third volume, which ends with Caracalla. Therefore both series complement each other with the high empire from Nerva to Caracalla covered by both, but the later Severans and Soldier Emperors only included in Banti (which has the added bonus of including Medallions, citing the provenance of the pieces illustrated, and giving the number of specimens known to the author) and the Sestertii from the Civil War up to Domitian only included in the first Volume of Cayon (who has the advantage of illustrating more specimens). If anyone has a surplus Vol.3 of Cayon to sell, please send me a PM . Also it would be interesting to find out any info about the authors apart from their published work.
