FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Roman Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Marcelo Leal on August 01, 2018, 11:44:31 am
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Dear all,
I would like to present an interesting coin. It is a silver anonymous sestertius from the Roman Republica period.
This is the first type of sestertius struck by Roma.
Description:
Roman Republican
Anonymous, Rome, 211-208 BC. AR Sestertius (11mm, 0.84g, 6h).
Observe:Helmeted head of Roma r.; IIS behind.
Reverse: The Dioscuri, each holding spear, on horseback r.; two stars above. Crawford 44/7; RBW 176; RSC 4
Best regartds,
[MODIFIED BY ADMIN. PHOTO LINK REMOVED. PHOTO UPLOADED.]
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Beautiful little coin! I have always wanted one of these.
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Hi ML,
Nice coin! :)
Here is my example (scroll down, second coin):
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/meepzorp/rr_pt03.htm
Your example is much nicer than mine.
Meepzorp
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Thank you guys!
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Very nice sestertii. You have inspired me to add my example to my Forum gallery:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=34967&pos=0
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Could you please describe _why_ it is considered a sestertius, I am not disagreeing, I just always thought that sestertii were bronze (or brass(?)).
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Hi Michael, your specimen is excepcional for the type. Congrat.
JBF, during the Roman Republic the sestertius, or sesterce, (pl. sestertii or sesterces) was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. Sestertius means "two and one half" (note the interesting "IIS" value mark for two, II, and a half, or Semis), referring to its nominal value of two and a half asses, a value that was useful for commerce because it was one quarter of a denarius, a coin worth ten asses.
Best,
Marcelo.
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Could you please describe _why_ it is considered a sestertius, I am not disagreeing, I just always thought that sestertii were bronze (or brass(?)).
A dollar was once silver. Now they are paper, but still a dollar. The first sestertii were silver. The orichalcum (brass) sestertius was much cheaper to produce and made a profit for the government.
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Since we are showing off our own AR Sestertii, I thought I'd offer my own
humble example. ex Bank Leu, and apparently ex Morgantina 1981 Hoard
(according to the tag). This was also my first non-AE sestertius.
In addition to the previous notes, the word 'sestertius' is derived from the
words semis and tertius, which were joined and contracted.
Semis, meaning a half, and tertius, meaning the third. Literally, this was a
half of the third (part). The denominational mark, IIS, indicates two whole
parts (in this case an as), plus a half of the third part, ergo a semis-tertius
(back when there were ten asses to a denarius, rather than the later 16).
- Walter
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Very cool little coins ... congrats, fellas (sadly, I don't have a silver sestertius to show-off)
:Greek_Tau: :o: :Greek_Tau: :Aupsidedown: :gammareversed: :gammareversed: :Greek_Psi: :reversedL: :Greek_Xi: :Greek_Alpha: :gammareversed: :Greek_Omicron: :U: :zig:
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Interesting!
I assume the two riders with the stars above are the dioscuri.
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Both are nice examples! I have never found one I really liked and do not have any among my Republicans. Not one. I was a bit surprised. This post will probably end up changing that !
Not a particularly varied type .... The Dioscouri riding right, ROMA below.... Most specimens have much more wear than in these nice photos.
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It's a varied denomination if one includes the types struck during the Imperatorial era in the pool of potential specimens, many of which are extremely rare. <sigh>, looks like I need to add a few more coins to my Forum gallery. ;)
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Thank you guys for the comments.
Best.
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Please do, Michael!
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It's a varied denomination if one includes the types struck during the Imperatorial era in the pool of potential specimens, many of which are extremely rare. <sigh>, looks like I need to add a few more coins to my Forum gallery. ;)
Hi Michael, feel free to share your coins with us!!
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Sorry for the delayed response. I finally posted one of my later AR Sesterii from the Imperatorial era. Link is below. More will eventually follow. I still need to add commentary to this one.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=34967&pos=0