Posted 06/09/2020 2:15 pm
I chanced upon it in one of the many 'Today's Auctions' notifications I often receive
Had hoped to snag it for a song but someone else was singing the same tune !
Fortunately the budget allowed for a bit of folly
Seller listed it as "sestertius"
I had never researched these much because I had never thought I might stumble upon one for less than thousands of denarii
I see too that different references have ID'd this issue as being sestertius double sestertius and even a dupondius
I think I may actually be inclined towards the dupondius theory
I own a very nice example of the Aurelian Æ As/Sestertius
Weighs in at 6.27 grams
The designation of it as an Æ As has always been more convincing to me
So this "sestertius" comes in at 12.57 grams
No doubt it has 'lost' a half gram or so
So the As/Sestertius is near exactly 1/2 the weight
Hence appropriately one half the value
Portrait of Severina is interesting too
The crescent would have been a familiar symbol from the well known "double denarius"
The radiate crown on Aurelian familiar too as associated with the antoninianus and harking back too the orichalcum dupondius of the early Empire
Worth double the As
I am uncertain but
I will take whatever I can get !
Had hoped to snag it for a song but someone else was singing the same tune !
Fortunately the budget allowed for a bit of folly
Seller listed it as "sestertius"
I had never researched these much because I had never thought I might stumble upon one for less than thousands of denarii
I see too that different references have ID'd this issue as being sestertius double sestertius and even a dupondius
I think I may actually be inclined towards the dupondius theory
I own a very nice example of the Aurelian Æ As/Sestertius
Weighs in at 6.27 grams
The designation of it as an Æ As has always been more convincing to me
So this "sestertius" comes in at 12.57 grams
No doubt it has 'lost' a half gram or so
So the As/Sestertius is near exactly 1/2 the weight
Hence appropriately one half the value
Portrait of Severina is interesting too
The crescent would have been a familiar symbol from the well known "double denarius"
The radiate crown on Aurelian familiar too as associated with the antoninianus and harking back too the orichalcum dupondius of the early Empire
Worth double the As
I am uncertain but
I will take whatever I can get !
