| Anonymous AR sestertius | |
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| Helmed Roma head right, IIS behind | Dioscuri riding 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 Romancoin. During theRoman Republic it was a smallsilver coin issued only on rare occasions. During theRoman Empire it was a largebrass coin.[1][2]
The namesestertius means "two and one half". It refers to the nominal value of two and a halfasses, a value useful in commerce because it was one quarter of adenarius, a coin worth tenasses. The etymology is ancient. Latin writers derivesestertius fromsemis "half" andtertius "third", where "third" points to the thirdas, since two asses and half of a third equal two and a half.[3]
English-language sources routinely use the Latin formsestertius, pluralsestertii. Older literature frequently usessesterce, pluralsesterces, sinceterce is the English equivalent oftertius. A common shorthand for values in sestertii isIIS (Unicode 𐆘). In this sign the Roman numeralII is followed byS forsemis, and the whole is written with a horizontal strike. Where this symbol is impractical, HS is often used instead, with the crossbar of H standing for the strike acrossII.[4][5][6]
The sestertius was introducedc. 211 BC as a small silver coin valued at one quarter of a denarius, and therefore one hundredth of anaureus. A silver denarius was set at about 4.5 grams, valued at tenasses, with the silver sestertius valued at two and a halfasses at about 1.125 grams. In practice, pieces can be underweight.[7]
When the denarius was retariffed to sixteenasses, a change that followed the gradual reduction in the size of bronze denominations, the sestertius was revalued to fourasses while remaining one quarter of a denarius. Republican silver sestertii were produced only sporadically through 44 BC.[8][9]
In or about 23 BC, during the coinage reform ofAugustus, the sestertius was reintroduced as a large brass denomination. Theas, now copper, was set at one quarter of a sestertius. Augustus fixed the sestertius at one hundredth of thegold aureus. The sestertius remained the largest regularly issued brass denomination until the late third century AD. Production centered on the mint ofRome. From AD 64, during the reign ofNero and again underVespasian, the mint ofLyon (Lugdunum) supplemented production of aes coinage.[2][10]
The brass sestertius typically weighs about 25–28 grams, measures about 32–34 mm in diameter, and is about 4 mm thick. Romans distinguished bronze from brass, calling brassorichalcum, also spelledaurichalcum, a term that alludes to its gold-like color when newly struck.[11][9]
In theAntonine period theaes coinage shows distinct thematic programs for each denomination while minting evolved.Hadrian used the large orichalcum sestertius for a sustained "travel series" at Rome about AD 130 to AD 133, pairing obverses with reverses that personified provinces such asBritannia or depicted the emperor addressing soldiers during imperial arrivals.[12][13][14] UnderAntoninus Pius theorichalcumdupondius, identified by a radiate head, announced civic and provisioning programs through reverses forSalus feeding a serpent,Aequitas holding scales,Fides clasping hands, andAfrica carrying grain, usually withS C in the fields.[15][16][17][18][19] UnderMarcus Aurelius thecopper as stayed the base unit with a laureate portrait of the emperor and reverses that marked theMarcomannic War by showingGermania standing over bound captives.[20][16]
Orichalcum was treated as roughly twice the value of copper by weight, which explains why thedupondius of orichalcum is similar in size to the copperas but worth twoasses.[9][1]
Despite the silveredantoninianus dominating production in AD 251,Hostilian, who rose from Caesar to briefly become Augustus, received one final shortaes series at Rome before bronze issues largely declined. The first Hostilian sestertii carry the legendPRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS ("to the prince of youth") to present him as heir, part of a dynastic series that also included similar types for his co-heirVolusian in the summer of AD 251.[21][22][23][24] Hostilian had at least seven variations of sestertii minted during his rein.[25]
Sestertii continued to be struck until late in the third century. Metal quality and striking declined, although portraiture often remained skillful. Later issues often reused metal from older sestertii. Repeated melting reduced zinc content because zinc boils at about 907 °C while copper melts at about 1085 °C. Mint workers then replaced losses with bronze or other copper alloys, which made later sestertii darker and their preparation cruder.[26][27][28][29]
Inflation driven by the debasement of the silver coinage reduced the purchasing power of the sestertius and of smaller denominations such as the dupondius and theas. In the first century AD daily small change was dominated by the dupondius and theas. By the second century the sestertius had become the dominant small change in circulation. In the third century the silver content of the coinage fell sharply. TheAntoninianus became the main small coin by the 260s and 270s and it was mostly bronze by that date. Although the antoninianus was theoretically worth eight sestertii, the average sestertius often contained more valuable metal.[30][31]
Some of the last sestertii were struck byAurelian (AD 270–275). During the last phase, when sestertii were reduced in size and quality, thedouble sestertius was introduced, first byTrajan Decius (AD 249–251) and later in large quantity by the Gallic emperorPostumus (AD 259–268). Postumus often overstruck worn earlier sestertii, placing his image and legends over the older fabric. The double sestertius can be recognized by theradiate crown on the imperial portrait, the same device used to distinguish the dupondius from theas and the antoninianus from the denarius.[32][33][34]
Eventually many sestertii were withdrawn by the state or by counterfeiters to melt for the debased antoninianus, which amplified inflation. The coinage reforms of the fourth century did not include the sestertius.
The sestertius also served as a standard unit of account and appears on inscriptions as the monogram HS. Large sums were recorded assestertium milia, thousands of sestertii, withmilia often omitted by context.[6][30] The wealthy late Republican general and politicianCrassus was said byPliny the Elder to have had estates worth 200 million sesterces.[35][36]
A loaf of bread cost roughly half a sestertius in some Pompeian accounts. Asextarius (about 0.5 L) of wine could range from less than half to more than one sestertius, depending on quality. Onemodius (about 6.67 kg) of wheat atPompeii in AD 79 is recorded at seven sestertii, with rye at three sestertii, a bucket at two, a tunic at fifteen, and a donkey at about five hundred, in price notes that illustrate daily expenses rather than a state tariff.[37][38]
According toTacitus'Annals, 1.17.4–5, soldiers in the Rhine mutiny said that they were paid tenasses a day and demanded a denarius a day, which they obtained.[39][40] In the first century AD an ordinary legionary received about 900 sestertii annually, rising to 1,200 underDomitian (AD 81–96). Contemporary papyri and later literary evidence confirm these levels as gross pay, before deductions for equipment and rations.[41][42]
Documents fromLondinium record a sale of a Gaulish enslaved girl named Fortunata for 600 denarii, equal to 2,400 sestertii, to a buyer called Vegetus, an assistant slave of a palace slave. The tablet is dated to about AD 75–125 and is the clearest evidence for slave sale contracts in Roman Britain.[43][44]
Early brass sestertii are prized bynumismatists. Their broad flans gave engravers space for detailed portraits and complex reverse types. The most celebrated series are often those ofNero from about AD 64–68. Specialists praise the realism of the portraits and the invention of the reverse designs.[1]
Renaissance artists and medalists studied Roman sestertii for imagery and technique. Humanists admired the size and high relief of imperial bronzes, and Renaissance numismatic imagery directly borrowed Roman types.[45][46] The series ofHadrian (AD 117–138), which recorded his travels, includes an early coin representation ofBritannia. The allegory was revived underCharles II and remains a fixture of British coinage.[1]
As production ceased in the fourth century and many pieces were withdrawn and remelted, sestertii are less common overall than many other Roman bronze types. Fully struck examples with sharp detail command high premiums at auction.[11]
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