There is a giant Tiberius shaped hole in my collection and I have been considering what coin type I want to target to fill it. I enjoy coins that tell a story and the “tribute penny” is certainly a coin that comes with a popular story. I’m fully aware that the association of the Tiberius / pax denarius with the story of Jesus in the Bible is tenuous at best. I know some consider the “tribute penny” name to be nothing more than marketing and many experienced collectors go out of there way to target a different type for their 12 Caesars collections. However, I’m struggling to think of a coin for Tiberius that tells a better story. The most common other type I see for Tiberius is the quadriga reverse. I’m not sure if there is any historic or numismatic significance with that type? Therefore I ask the board. What are your thoughts on the Tribute Penny? Is there another type for Tiberius that you find more interesting and why? … of course, please show your Tribute Pennies, other Tiberius coins and anything else you think is relevant.
I think it's overrated. Common but expensive. However... if you're looking to tell a story (albeit one that's been told many times before), there's no more talked about coin than the tribute penny. It's almost a required check box for that time period. However, I think even more interesting... is the showcasing of the deified Augustus to legitimize his reign. I think there are more coins from Tiberius' reign showing those that gave him that legitimacy, than coins showing a bust of Tiberius. Finally... a really high quality Altar of Lugdunum coin would be cool.
Why not a drachm of Tibierius, with his son, Drusus, on the reverse? Drusus had an interesting life, let Wiki give you the detail. Tiberius & Drusus ( 14 - 37 A.D.) AR Drachm CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea-Eusebia O: [TI C]AES AVG PM TRP XXXV, Laureate head of Tiberius right. R: DRVSVS CAES TI] AVG F COS II R P, Head of Drusus left. Caesarea in Cappadocia mint 33- 34 A.D. 3.47g 19mm RIC I 87; RPC I 3622. Syd 46
I agree, an altar of Lugdunum would be purdy ! Even more significant to me since I live not far away from Lyon. I got my "tribute penny" a long time ago, while it wasn't as pricey as it's become now. Q
Even though the Tribute Penny is so popular and so often overpriced in the market, I still think that it's probably the best "story" coin minted under Tiberius. For that reason I voted "Tribute Penny". But there certainly other interesting types. The drachms with dual portraits as suggested by @Mat is a great one. Also, the "ASIAE RESTITVTIS" sestertius type tells an interesting story, as David Sear writes: "This publicizes the measures undertaken by Tiberius for the relief of those cities of the province Asia which had been affected by a devastating earthquake in AD 17 centred near the city of Sardis. The type was restored by Titus." -David Sear, Roman Coins and Their Values Vol I., p. 346 This also puts poor Tiberius in a slightly better light than is usually granted to him. NOT MY COIN https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10675767 These different types might not be any more affordable than a Tribute Penny though.
My only "tribute penny" is 1) fourrée 2) holed I don't know if it has been holed on purpose, in order to withdraw it from circulation, because it was a fourrée and shouldn't fool customers. I prefer this as from Lyons : nice Tiberius profile, interesting reverse depicting the Altar of Lugdunum. There is also this as from Antioch :
This was my first Tiberius. TIBERIUS (14-37). Dupondius. Commagene. Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTI F AVGVSTVS. Laureate head right. Rev: PONT MAXIM COS III IMP VII TR POT XXI. Winged caduceus between two crossed cornucopias. 29 mm 13.89 g RIC² 89; RPC 3868.
Great suggestions OJ. The Altar of Lugdunum in particular is interesting. Too bad the type wasn’t struck in the denarius denomination. Thanks for the suggestion. I do indeed need to read up more on Drusus. Nice drachm! That is one of the best Tribute Pennies I’ve seen, especially the detail on the reverse! I love the dark toning as well. I sometimes get so used to the Roman names of places that I forget they have modern names… like Lyon. Lyon looks like it would be a wonderful place to visit, especially the theatre and the museum. It’s awesome that you live so close to so many interesting places Q!
Tribute penny is one of those coins i refuse to pay a pretty penny, given its vast quantity and availability. Right now I'm happy with this $10 fourree that i got at a coin show.
I do have a "Tribute Penny", it was a cheap purchase on ebay, since I guess no one liked the error. I love it! From Curtis Clay "it's a double strike with major rotation of the flan between the strikes, especially rare that it happened to a Julio-Claudian denarius." Tiberius (14 37 A.D.) AR Denarius O: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, Laureate head right, R: PONTIF MAXIM, Female figure seated right, holding sceptre and branch. Lugdunum Mint 3.75g 19mm RIC 26; BMC 34; RSC 16
Four coins of Tiberius come to mind from my collection, 2 or 3 of whose types (or similar) are represented above (including the Tribute Penny). It's a hard call for my favorite, but probably this Provincial "Dupondius" (28mm, 22.07g) from Syria, Commagene (like the one posted above by @Dafydd ). Commagene became a Province under Tiberius, and an important base for the Roman Army. I also like a coin to tell a story about the modern history of numismatics. This one (along w/ a few dozen others) was from the private collection of Elvira Clain-Stefanelli (1914-2001), probably also Vladimir's (1914-1982), the important husband & wife Curators of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian for decades. I'm still working on the schematic "transcript" of the countermarks (the round one seems only minimally published): This coin was countermarked twice during Trajan's reign, probably by Legions who had participated in his Eastern campaigns (Parthia, Judaea, and possibly also in Dacia). It's uncertain exactly how many and which of Trajan's Legions were stationed in the Commagene environs, but countermarks and hoards show that it was many. (See G. Brunk, 1980, NC, "A Hoard from Syria Countermarked by the Roman Legions.") I've got a Sestertius with similar imagery to the one shown by @The Meat man , but instead of Tiberius, that's Divus Augustus with a radiate crown (but struck by Tiberius, honoring his predecessor & legitimizing himself as @Orange Julius noted above). Interesting for being ex American Numismatic Society (from 2018-21), from the Robert W. Bartlett (1924-2017) Bequest, sold at CNG Keystone Sale 4. Bartlett had a general collection of ancients, but with a concentration in Imperial Sestertii (many of which the ANS held onto & are in their online catalog now). Here's another Provincial bronze, an Æ As (29mm, 11.45g) from Spain, Colonia Romula (Seville), ca. 14-19 CE. Mostly interesting for the dynastic portraits, with Germanicus & Drusus. There was a large output of bronze coinage from the city under both Augustus and Tiberius, and this coin is easy to find quite cheaply. I'm sure I've read more about the history, but have lost track of it. Interesting, though, as one of the westernmost Roman Provincial mints -- quite a distance from my easternmost, Edessa, in Mesopotamia. From the collection on J.P. Righetti, the well-known Swiss collector & numismatist. Least interesting to me is my Tribute Penny. If it was in better condition, I'm sure I'd enjoy it much more! An impulse buy, maybe 2019? I usually don't regret coin purchases, but some days this is an exception:
The most desirable coin type of Tiberius for me is the Sestertius featuring his portrait, but you will have a very hard time finding one in a fine state or finding one at all, for that matter. TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR V - bare head of Tiberius left / ROM ET AVG - The great Altar of Roma and Augustus at Lugdunum, flanked by columns surmounted by statues of Victory right and left, the altar ornamented with row of uncertain objects along the top and three wreaths on the front panel. Sestertius, Lugdunum AD 10-11 (under Augustus) 36,43 mm / 22,06 gr RIC (Augustus) 240; BMCRE (Augustus) 572-3; CBN (Augustus) 1737; Cayon (Los Sestercios del Imperio Romano) 4; Cohen 28; Sear (Roman Coins & Their Values I) 1753
