Revalued Postumus sestertius

[Adrianus]

Hi all,

An unusual piece. Originally a laureate sestertius with Fides Militum reverse; this coin has then had a punch applied to the area around the back of the head, giving the impression of a radiate crown. This has affected part of the lettering but some details of hair and laurels are still visible where the punches have not obliterated them. The punching seems to have flattened the corresponding part of the reverse.
The rationale behind this was clearly, by adding a radiate crown (or something that looks a bit like one), to transform the piece into a double sestertius.

Regards,

Adrianus

[maximinvs]

I have read about this, but this is the first time I have seen a photo. Clearly the radiate headgear still implied greater intrinsic value, though I suspect at a vestigal level.

Postumus' bronzes vary enormously in weight, with both laureat and radiate pieces varying from under 10g to over 30g, and variously described as asses, dupondii, sestertii and double sestertii. Using these in the marketplace must have been a nightmare, unless they circulated by weight or at a tariff greater than their intrinsic value.

Thanks for posting it.


Regards,
Ian

[Joe Sermarini]

Postumus' bronzes vary enormously in weight, with both laureat and radiate pieces varying from under 10g to over 30g, and variously described as asses, dupondii, sestertii and double sestertii. Using these in the marketplace must have been a nightmare, unless they circulated by weight or at a tariff greater than their intrinsic value.

Late Roman coins were a token currency valued much higher than their intrinsic value.  Weight indicated the denomination but coins definitely were not weighed to conduct transactions.  As long as they could determine the denomination (and I suspect most people could), it wouldn't have been a nightmare.     

[kc]

Hi Adrianus,

a very interesting coin. I have a similar piece where the aureole was scratched afterwards into the coin.
It was surely done to revaluate a sestertius to a double sestertius. This is a typical feature of demonetization during an inflation.

Regards

kc

[Adrianus]

Hi kc,

That is a great example. I think there are similar coins with cut radiate crowns in Bastien's article but I don't have it to hand. The addition of a radiate crown must have been perceived as a useful way of increasing a coin's value....Postumus' large bronze comes in so many shapes and sizes whether with radiate crowns or not 

Regards,

Adrianus

[Potator II]

Never seen that before. That's most interesting, and consistent with a very inflationist period.

Thanks both for showing
Potator