New Sestertius of Antoninus Pius - Quality Control !

[Julius Germanicus]

This was a "back to the roots" purchase for me: a nice big yellow Sestertius that cost me just 5 % of what I paid for my Agrippina Junior and nevertheless is much nicer in hand - the reverse has suffered from corrosion, but the obverse leaves little to be desired I think!
Note that the roman mint never reached this level of quality control for AE coinage again: this coin is not only round, well struck, and obviously made of "pure" yellow Orichalcum, it's weight is also 100 % spot on: exactly 27,2 grams equaling one roman ounce, the nominal weight of a Sestertius! Show me a coin of Marcus Aurelius (or any later ruler, for that matter) that matches all these boxes :-D.

ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII - Laureate head of Antoninus Pius right /
COS IIII S C - Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae
Sestertius, Rome AD 148
33 mm / 27,2 g
RIC 855; BMCRE 1823; Banti 100 (53 specimens)

Let´s see your coins of Antoninus Pius or Sestertii that come close to this in terms of quality control !

[Limes]

Nice addition! And that;s a great portrait indeed! 

1 hour ago, Julius Germanicus said:

it's weight is also 100 % spot on: exactly 27,2 grams equaling one roman ounce, the nominal weight of a Sestertius!

Dont want to be negative here, but would the original coin, without corrosion on the reverse, weigh more? I think that the wear/pitting also made the coin lighter? 

I have two AP sestertii. Both nicely round, good portraits, but the weight is off. The reverse of the IMPERATOR II type is a bit corroded too. 

 

[Roman Collector]

Fun coin, @Julius Germanicus! That bare orichalcum gives us an idea of what these sestertii looked like back in the mid-second century when they were in circulation. You're right that it's an oddball. Most sestertii of the period weighed 23-27 g and had squarish flans. Here are a couple of my better-preserved Antoninus Pius sestertii.

Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.16 g, 29 mm.
Rome, AD 142.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right.
Rev: ANNONA AVG S C, Annona standing right, between modius and prow, holding corn ears and out-turned cornucopiae.
Refs: RIC 597; BMCRE 1228; Cohen 37; RCV 4147; UCR 502.

 

Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.46 g, 32.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, December 159 - December 160.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII, laureate head, right.
Rev: PIETATI AVG COS IIII, Pietas, standing facing, head left, holding globe in extended right hand and child on left arm; on either side of her, small girl standing, raising one hand.
Refs: RIC 1031; BMCRE 2088-90; Cohen 621; Strack 1192; RCV 4205.
Notes:RIC 1002 and BMCRE 2062 are misdescribed by Mattingly in both RIC3 and BMCRE4. It is extremely doubtful that any specimens read TR P XXII on obv., but actually read TR P XXIII with the final "I" being merged with the neck truncation.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Roman Collector

[shanxi]

@Julius Germanicus Nice coin, but originally the weight was not "Spot On". The many corrosion holes certainly mean a loss of weight. 

 Was the weight control  „al pezzo“ or  „al marco“ for these Sestertii???

The few sestertii I own are mostly below 27.2 g, but there are exemptions, e.g. this with 28g:

Faustina II
Sestertius, AD 161-175
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right.
Rev.: TEMPOR FELIC, Faustina standing left, holding two infants, between four girls at her feet. In field, S – C.
AE, 28.05g, 33.4 mm
Ref.: RIC 1673

 

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by shanxi

[Spaniard]

@Julius Germanicus..Lovely obverse portrait....

My heaviest Sestertius of Antoninus Pius is the same type as @Roman Collector's sweet example..

ANTONINUS PIUS. 138-161 AD. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 26.75 g.)
Struck 159/160 AD.
Obverse..ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII, laureate head right
Rev. PIETATI AVG COS IIII SC, Pietas standing left holding globe, Faustina Junior as Pietas standing left, between Faustina Minima, Lucilla & holding baby Fadilla.
RIC III 1031

And here's one of his lovely Empress.

Diva Faustina Senior. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 21.19 g.)
Rome mint, struck under Antoninus Pius, circa AD 146-161.
Obv. DIVA FAVSTINA draped bust right.
Rev. AETERNITAS S-C seated left, holding scepter and globe surmounted by phoenix....RICIII #1103 (Antoninus Pius)
Reddish-brown patina.

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, Julius Germanicus said:

This was a "back to the roots" purchase for me: a nice big yellow Sestertius that cost me just 5 % of what I paid for my Agrippina Junior and nevertheless is much nicer in hand - the reverse has suffered from corrosion, but the obverse leaves little to be desired I think!
Note that the roman mint never reached this level of quality control for AE coinage again: this coin is not only round, well struck, and obviously made of "pure" yellow Orichalcum, it's weight is also 100 % spot on: exactly 27,2 grams equaling one roman ounce, the nominal weight of a Sestertius! Show me a coin of Marcus Aurelius (or any later ruler, for that matter) that matches all these boxes :-D.

ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII - Laureate head of Antoninus Pius right /
COS IIII S C - Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae
Sestertius, Rome AD 148
33 mm / 27,2 g
RIC 855; BMCRE 1823; Banti 100 (53 specimens)

Let´s see your coins of Antoninus Pius or Sestertii that come close to this in terms of quality control !

J.G. Your sestertius & the other examples posted on this thread prove that portrait engraving was at a very high level at the Rome mint during the 2nd century AD 😊. During the 3rd century AD portrait engraving was still at a very high level 😉. A favorite in my collection is posted below.

Maximus as Caesar, AD 236-238. Rome Mint. AE Sestertius: 26.39 gm, 31 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Maximus draped & facing right. Reverse: Maximus holding baton & transverse spear, two standards behind him. RIC 13. Ex CNG 70, lot 1044, 2005; Ex Munzen & Medaillen GmbH 9, lot 638, 2001.