Sestertius

Anonymous AR sestertius

Helmed Roma head right, IIS behind	Dioscuririding right, ROMA in linear frame below. RSC4, C44/7, BMC13
AR 0.96 g – RSC4, C44/7, BMC13

Thesestertius(pl.:sestertii) orsesterce(pl.:sesterces) was anancient Roman coin.During theRoman Republicit was a small,silvercoin issued only on rare occasions. During theRoman Empireit was a largebrasscoin.

The namesestertiusmeans "two and one half", referring to its nominal value of two and a halfasses(abronzeRoman coin, singularas), a value that was useful for commerce because it was one quarter of adenarius,a coin worth tenasses.The name is derived fromsemis,"half" andtertius,"third", in which "third" refers to the thirdas:the sestertius was worth two fullassesand half of a third.

English-language sources routinely use the original Latin formsestertius,pluralsestertii;but older literature frequently usessesterce,pluralsesterces,tercebeing the English equivalent oftertius.A modern shorthand for values in sestertii is~~IIS~~(Unicode 𐆘), in which the Roman numeralIIis followed bySforsemis,and the whole struck through; but because this symbol and striking through letters are not always convenient, HS may be used instead, with the horizontal bar of the 'H' representing the strike through the numeralII,rather than the letterH.^[1]

History

The sestertius was introducedc. 211 BCas a small silver coin valued at one-quarter of a denarius (and thus one hundredth of anaureus). A silver denarius was supposed to weigh about 4.5 grams, valued at tenasses,with the silver sestertius valued at two and a halfasses(1.125 grammes). In practice, the coins were usually underweight.

When the denarius was retariffed to sixteenasses(due to the gradual reduction in the size of bronze denominations), the sestertius was accordingly revalued to fourasses,still equal to one quarter of a denarius. It was produced sporadically, far less often than the denarius, through 44 BC.

HostilianAD 251

In or about 23 BC, with the coinage reform ofAugustus,the sestertius was reintroduced as a large brass denomination, while theas,now made ofcopper,was worth one quarter of a sestertius. Augustus tariffed the value of the sestertius as one hundredth of thegoldaureus. The sestertius was produced as the largest brass denomination until the late 3rd century AD. Most were struck in the mint ofRomebut from AD 64 during the reign ofNero(AD 54–68) andVespasian(AD 69–79), the mint ofLyon(Lugdunum), supplemented production.

The brass sestertius typically weighs in the region of 25 to 28 grams, is around 32–34 mm in diameter and about 4 mm thick. The distinction between bronze and brass was important to the Romans. Their name for brass wasorichalcum,also spelledaurichalcum(echoing the word for a gold coin, aureus), meaning 'gold-copper', because of its shiny, gold-like appearance when the coins were newly struck (see, for examplePliny the Elderin hisNatural HistoryBook 34.4).

Orichalcum was considered, by weight, to be about double the value of copper. This is why the half-sestertius, thedupondius,was around the same size and weight as the bronze was, but was worth two asses.

Sestertii continued to be struck until the late 3rd century, although there was a marked deterioration in the quality of the metal used and the striking even though portraiture remained strong. Later emperors increasingly relied on melting down older sestertii, a process which led to thezinccomponent being gradually lost as it burned off in the high temperatures needed to melt copper (zinc melts at 419 °C but boils at 907 °C, copper melts at 1085 °C). The shortfall was made up with bronze and evenlead.Later sestertii tend to be darker in appearance as a result and are made from more crudely prepared blanks (see theHostiliancoin on this page).

The gradual impact ofinflationcaused bydebasementof the silver currency meant that the purchasing power of the sestertius and smaller denominations like the dupondius and as was steadily reduced. In the 1st century AD, everyday small change was dominated by the dupondius andas,but in the 2nd century, as inflation hit, the sestertius became the dominant small change. In the 3rd century silver coinage contained less and less silver, and more and more copper or bronze. By the 260s and 270s the main unit was the double-denarius, theAntoninianus,but by then these small coins were almost all bronze. Although these coins were theoretically worth eight sestertii, the average sestertius was worth far more in plain terms of the metal it contained.

Some of the last sestertii were struck byAurelian(270–275 AD). During the end of its issue, when sestertii were reduced in size and quality, thedouble sestertiuswas issued first byTrajan Decius(249–251 AD) and later in large quantity by the ruler of a breakaway regime in the West, namedPostumus(259–268 AD), who often used worn old sestertii tooverstrikehis image and legends on. The double sestertius was distinguished from the sestertius by theradiate crownworn by the emperor, a device used to distinguish the dupondius from theasand the Antoninianus from the denarius.

Eventually, many sestertii were withdrawn by the state and by forgers, to melt down to make the debased Antoninianus, which made inflation worse. In the coinage reforms of the 4th century, the sestertius played no part and passed into history.

Sestertius ofHadrian,dupondius ofAntoninus Pius,and as ofMarcus Aurelius

Unit of account

The sestertius was also used as a standard unit of account and was represented on inscriptions with the monogram HS. Large values were recorded in terms ofsestertium milia,thousands of sestertii, with themiliaoften omitted and implied. The wealthy general and politician of the late Roman Republic,Crassus,who fought in the war to defeatSpartacus,was said byPliny the Elderto have had "estates worth 200 million sesterces".

A loaf of bread cost roughly half a sestertius, and asextarius(c. 0.5 L) ofwineanywhere from less than half to more than one sestertius. Onemodius(6.67 kg) ofwheatin 79 ADPompeiicost seven sestertii, ofryethree sestertii, a bucket two sestertii, a tunic fifteen sestertii, a donkey five hundred sestertii.^[2]

According toTacitus'Annals,book I, chapter 17.4 and 17.5, soldiers of the Rhine army who rose againstTiberiuswere paid tenassesa day, out of which they had to pay, among other things, for their own uniforms. They demanded to be paid a denarius a day, and they got it.^[3]

Records fromPompeiishow aslavebeing sold at auction for 6,252 sestertii. A writing tablet fromLondinium(RomanLondon), dated toc. 75–125 AD, records the sale of aGallicslave girl called Fortunata for 600 denarii, equal to 2,400 sestertii, to a man called Vegetus. It is difficult to make any comparisons with modern coinage or prices, but for most of the 1st century AD, the ordinarylegionarywas paid nine hundred sestertii per annum, rising to twelve hundred underDomitian(81–96 AD), the equivalent of 3.3 sestertii per day. Half of it was deducted for living costs, leaving the soldier, if he was lucky enough to get paid, with about 1.65 sestertii per day.

Numismatic value

A sestertius ofNero,struck atRomein 64 AD. The reverse depicts the emperor on horseback with a companion. The legend reads DECVRSIO, meaning "a military exercise". Diameter 35 mm

Early brass sestertii are highly valued bynumismatists,since their large size gave engravers a large area in which to produce detailed portraits and reverse types. The most celebrated are those produced forNero(54–68 AD) between the years 64 and 68 AD, created by some of the most accomplished coin engravers in history. The brutally realistic portraits of this emperor, and the elegant reverse designs, greatly impressed and influenced the artists of theRenaissance.The series issued byHadrian(117–138 AD), recording his travels around the Roman Empire, depicts the Empire at its height, and included the first representation on a coin of the figure ofBritannia;centuries later it was revived by English kingCharles II,and continues to feature on theUnited Kingdomcoinage.

As a result of ceasing production and withdrawals from circulation in the 4th century, sestertii are less common as a whole compared to other Roman bronze coins. Fully struck examples with sharp detail often command high premiums at auction.^[4]

References

^Kennedy, Benjamin Hall (1930).The Revised Latin Primer.London: Longmans. p. 214.
^"Roman Economy – Prices & Cost in Ancient Rome".13 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Tacitus, Annales 1.17.4 and 1.17.5: Enimvero militiam ipsam gravem, infructuosam:denis in diem assibusanimam et corpus aestimari: hinc vestem arma tentoria, hinc saevitiam centurionum et vacationes munerum redimi. At hercule verbera et vulnera, duram hiemem, exercitas aestates, bellum atrox: aut sterilem pacem sempiterna) Nec aliud levamentum quam si certis sub legibus militia iniretur, utsingulos denariosmererent, sextus decumus stipendii annus finem adferret, ne ultra sub vexillis tenerentur, sed isdem in castris praemium pecunia solveretur.
^Sear, David R. (1981).Roman Coins and their Values.London: Seaby. pp. 10–12.ISBN 0-900652-57-8.

External links

[1] Kennedy, Benjamin Hall (1930).The Revised Latin Primer.London: Longmans. p. 214.

[2] "Roman Economy – Prices & Cost in Ancient Rome".13 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[3] Tacitus, Annales 1.17.4 and 1.17.5: Enimvero militiam ipsam gravem, infructuosam:denis in diem assibusanimam et corpus aestimari: hinc vestem arma tentoria, hinc saevitiam centurionum et vacationes munerum redimi. At hercule verbera et vulnera, duram hiemem, exercitas aestates, bellum atrox: aut sterilem pacem sempiterna) Nec aliud levamentum quam si certis sub legibus militia iniretur, utsingulos denariosmererent, sextus decumus stipendii annus finem adferret, ne ultra sub vexillis tenerentur, sed isdem in castris praemium pecunia solveretur.

[4] Sear, David R. (1981).Roman Coins and their Values.London: Seaby. pp. 10–12.ISBN 0-900652-57-8.

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