Ancient Rome Coins with S C Annotation 27BC to 376AD

The inquirer has asked about a bronze coin from ancient Rome. Such requests test our ken here at CoinQuest. There are thousands of patterns and inscriptions that require specialized, trained experts to decipher. You can find such experts at several web sites. Our favorites are:

- ForumAncientCoins
- VCoins

These coins sell at retail from a few US dollars to several hundreds of US dollars. Condition and eye appeal are critical factors in pricing.

One interesting feature you will find on many Roman coins not made of gold or silver is the S C annotation. You can see it in our graphic under the seated figure.

Gold and silver coins generally carried enough precious metal to cover their face value. But bronze coins did not. So some type of guarantee was needed to give bronze coins value in commerce. The value of Roman bronze coins was supported by the decree of the Senate 'Senatus Consulto' or SC. Almost all bronze coins issued before the late third century AD bore the letters SC on the reverse. Other than size and placement of the letters, there was relatively little variation from the norm.

Thanks to Doug Smith for his explanation of the S C annotation.
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