I have
had this coin for about a decade but haven't spent much time on it until now.
I have always suspected it was an ancient imitation. Both sides are seriously off-set plus the
flan appears to be too small.
I did some searching for every example of the official coin (RIC-63 under
Tiberius) I could find an image of and none are off-set by any appreciable degree, and certainly nothing remotely like mine.
So clearly an imitation but is it struck or cast? Given the
poor overall
quality the details are not bad with the highlights showing wear and/or casting issues. I used to think the "
lava flows" in the
reverse fields were the remnants of a
patina. But now I think they are
signs of casting flaws.
The edge also seems to show signs of a seam.
What do people think? Also I could find no reference to imitations of this
type though imitations of AE coins of the first half of the first century are common in
Britain,
France and
Spain. (I picked this up at a
shop in
Paris, though that is no guarantee of origin.) Anyone aware of references to imitations of this
type?
Divus Augustus AE
Sestertius, struck by
Tiberius, 36-37 AD.
DIVO AVGVSTO SPQR around
shield inscribed OB
CIVIS SER, supported by two capricorns.
TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST P M
TR POT XXXVII around large SC.
14.7 grams, 29x31 mm.
SC