Why do sestertii cost more than the denari?

@Roman Collector, that's a valid point, eloquently exemplified.

 

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By volume or by number?

 

Indeed. That's why I've bought about a dozen Provincials in the last six months. About half from Roman Alexandria, and the rest from a variety of locations, including my Macrinus/Diadumenian Pentassarion from Marcianopolis with a Hermes reverse, and a Gordian III/Tranquillina AE26 from Anchialus in Thrace with an Apollo reverse. I know that some people think Provincials are ugly and crude, and some are, but I find a lot of them very appealing.

 

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Who, exactly, are you trying to start an argument with?

 

The sestertius provides an artist a larger format with work with, so often the final coins can be very appealing at many levels. Because of this, emperors often liked to use sestertii as a means to convey victories, architectural achievements, and other political messages, such as distributing largess to the public at large.

Also, bronze can acquire very attractive patinas of varying colors and shades, something that silver can not really equal, but this is a double-edge sword: bronze, being a highly reactive metal, can corrode quite easily, so really beautiful sestertii, with nice strikes and smooth, glossy patinas, are indeed very scarce to rare.

But, there can be almost equally elegant die work on a denarius, and some types, such as the Julius Caesar denarius, regularly fetch very healthy prices at auctions and private sales.