Ancient Coins: The Sestertius

The Sestertius was a coin worth 4 Asses, the base monetary unit used on ancient Rome, and it is very popular among collectors for its big size, weight and engraving quality on its designs.
Today we will explore 4 coins of this type, minted at the second and third centuries AD, get to know the messages they tell us and their meaning. Hope you enjoy it! :)
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Music: Adventurer by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
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[@jaybee5269]

Well done! I used to own that Hadrian/Spes sestertius. I purchased it at a coin show in Virginia from Ed Waddell in 1999 for $575. Great to see it again - I miss it!

[@jaybee5269]

@Beiherhund Good to hear from you. No, I sold the coin back to Ed Waddell in 2004. I didn't fall out of love with the coin, but my father gave me an example of the same type that he had purchased in the early 1950s. I decided I couldn't afford to have two of the same issue and, as my father's coin had inspired me to collect ancient coins when I was very young, that's the one I kept. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably keep both.

[@michaelmcmullen2186]

Genuinely have started collecting because of you. Always loved history, just needed a spark. So thanks. Much love from California.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thats amazing, Michael! Thanks a lot for the support and welcome to the hobby. Join on us reddit at r/ancientcoins, there´s this great community of people there ready to help and share what they know

[@neptunus5536]

What a beautiful and informative presentation! I have just completed my collection of Sestertii with portraits of all Roman Emperors from Julius Caesar to Postumus plus nearly all of their wives. I only wish I had 1% of your skills to post them here. Keep up the great work!!!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Wow, this is marvellous, congratulations! If you think people would like to see some of your coins and you think you can film them, send me a message to my email and lets talk, address is in the channel description :)

[@caligaehistory2507]

Damn that Gordian sestertius looks nice! So Jealous! Loved the face of Hadrian too. Haven't seen many sestertii being sold in my area so their price is quite high. Couldn't even imagine getting one as special as that one of Philip.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Sestertii can be quite affordable with a bit of patience and market research, here´s the auction listing of that Philip Sestertius. As you can see, it is not of a prohibitive price! leunumismatik.com/en/lot/12/1240

[@poketime6769]

Amazing video I wish I had allllll of those coins I just started collecting ancient coins just because of you. Edit: OMG this is the most likes I ever got! Thanks for the people who liked!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thats fantastic news! Make sure to stay tuned, as I´ll upload more content aimed at the beginner collector soon. Remember collecting ancient coins is a marathon, not a sprint race. In due time I´m sure you will have a huge, beautiful collection :)

[@poketime6769]

Thanks 😊 hope you have a nice day

[@druzhynets91]

I'm yet to buy my first sestertius. Exciting topic!

[@antoniusbritannia8217]

Really nice portrait, and colour on the Hadrian Sestertius. I am still looking to pick up a nice one myself! Great overview and history of the denomination!

[@happycats685]

great video!

[@not_suspicious]

Great video, my Roman collection is made up mostly by Denarii, Antoninianii, and LRBs, but i’m focusing my collecting goals on Sestertii now.

[@officeguy3]

Very beautiful coins. Thank you for the information.

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

Today I got my first high grade Sestertius in the mail! Julia Mamea and Alexander Severus. Both needing to be cleaned. The patinas are wonderful, the size huge, and they are so satisfying to hold. Couldn't recommend this denomination more.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Congratulations! You should make videos about your coins :)

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

@@ClassicalNumismatics I'm thinking I will. I videoed the last opening of uncleaned coins I purchased. I might now go make a video about the cleaned up coins.

[@johannespeterkaiser5507]

Just came to this channel today and I find it is great :) I am nearly 2 years into collecting Roman coins, focusing on anything from the Claudian dynasty to the Nerva-Antonine. Fascinating video about Sestertii, I have 4 at the moment, hope I can get a couple more in the future. I am curious about your next video!

[@colbystearns5238]

I have one sestertius from Marcus Aurelius and it's in Fair grade which was probably the only way I could afford a coin like this that normally costs quite a bit. It still has an attractive portrait and I can at least make out the reverse even if it's pretty worn and faded. It's the second largest coin by width in my collection next to this follis I recently got for my 30th birthday from Justinian, though it's definitely the heaviest of them all at a little over 26 grams.

[@danmaxwell8668]

I have a sestertius of Marcus Aurelius as Ceasar under Antoninus Pius.

[@etenbrink9368]

Great video, you can see the thunderbolt on leather strap of Hadrian his bust

[@romulus1300]

Great video. I have 2 Sestertius. One of Antoninus Pius and another of Gordion III. I wondered why one was much larger than the other and you explained it well. Thank you.

[@leonardolatini1450]

Probably the larger is from Antoninus Pius, because while Gordian III was on power , the third century crisis was already eroding the Roman monetary system and I not surprise the size of Sestertii diminished for depreciation.

[@gordendegain4119]

Great video. Thank you 👍🏻

[@6enny655]

Your channel is so good, so high quality How are you only 1k subs? I wonder what your whole collection looks like :) for any help, Benny from israel

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thanks! Hopefully we're only at 1K since we're only around 6 months old. Hopefully this channel will grow more and more :) My collection is ok, thankfully a lot of other very kind collectors also share their coins with us here, so this channel is able to bring their treasures to you all. Once again, thanks a lot for the support :)

[@leonardolatini1450]

Yes. I have 6 Sestertius. One of Antoninus Pius, 2 of Hadrian , one of Septimius Severus and one of Gordian III.

[@andrewpopper4115]

I have a beautiful blue green sestertius of Hadrian. On the reverse that wonderful emperor is standing on a Nile Crocodile. It probably is a symbol of his Egyptian trip. I feel sad looking at that wonderful coin because during Hadrian's trip to Egypt his beautiful boyfriend Antioos fell into the Nile and drowned. Hadrian was devastated and never recovered from the tragedy. Emperor Julian in his great work "The Caesars" commented on this event. I recommend that everyone interested in Roman coins and history look up that fascinating satire by that other wonderful emperor History read that writing of that other great Emperor, Julian II. When I was in high school I discovered how inexpensive Roman coins were and saved all my lunch money for 4 years, I got skinny, my folks could not understand why I came home ravenous but I still have a wonderful ancient coin collection. I have to thank a great scholar George Weihr from Coin Galleries on 57th St in NY who gave wonderful advice and help to me starting at age 14 when he discovered my fascination with ancient history and coins. (The rest of the collectors were many decades older than I was at the time)

[@Fummy007]

Amazing!

[@stephenparker4083]

I had long admired Hadrian, being a gay man and having read Marguerite Youcenar’s excellent Memoirs of Hadrian. So, having collected coins as a kid I decided I wanted a coin with a good image of Hadrian. I found one that called to me even though it was rather pricey (> $1000). And now I am getting a start at restoring uncleaned coins in my 70’s!

[@stephenparker4083]

(It was a sestertius.)

[@colinbode4651]

If you hunt long enough I’ve been able to get some nice common types for 50-80 dollars!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Its getting harder and harder, but its indeed possible!

[@markp44288]

If you like sestertii you would probably dig Ptolemaic tetrobols too!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

They are INCREDIBLE. I have always wanted to make a dedicated video on coins of Egypt, and once I come about doing it, this is a coin I need to show.

[@williamkinkade2538]

What about the double sestertius of Emperor Postumus??

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thats a big one, eh! I´d love to show one here, the problem is getting a hold of one!

[@timeywimey6664]

I just got my first one but it is a but worn its from the reign of Phillip 1st or Phillip the arab.

[@DiegoMacianVERSUS]

Amazing video, any chance to share how the hell you make those beautiful illustrations of the coins? I would like to make some for my collection :)

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

I draw them myself. How do you make them? Well, practice drawing, and vector illustration software :)

[@horsewhisperer3708]

I just bought a Gordian III at a coin show. The reverse side shows a female figure, holding a staff with what looks like a large figure 8 on top. I haven’t seen a depiction of this anywhere else. Is my coin for real???

[@pio4362]

How many $GME can I get for my Sestertius? :P

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

It will depend on the timing of the market :P One thing I can be sure, however, Ancient coins seem to be a better investment than hedge funds today!

[@terressahicks7694]

I have ffaustina brass or gold coin and in reverse side it has a person on it but it also has the s and c init in Faustian you can see some of the writing but on the other side you just Person and the s and c