Ancient Rome Tiberius Caesar Copper and Bronze Coinage 8AD to 37AD

Under the full Latin name of Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti filius Augustus, Tiberius was emperor of ancient Rome from 14 AD until his death in 37 AD. That he was Roman emperor during the biblical times of Christ does not make his coins any less interesting!

The non-precious coins struck during his times were known the semis, the as, the dupondius and the sestertius. One sestertius was worth two dupondii, one dupondius was worth two asses, and one as was worth two semis. A sestertius is large, often 32-35 mm in diameter and above 20 grams in weight. Asses and dupondii are of similar size and weight to each other at 22-26 mm and around 10-12 grams. The semis are much smaller than the other types, often 20 mm or less and 4-5 grams.

Coins were struck in the name of Tiberius as early as 8 AD under the authority of Augustus, his step-father. Many provincial issues were struck as far west as Spain and as far east as Mesopotamia. These are not known as any special denomination, but are referred to by their size. A coin that is 26 millimeters in diameter will be referred to as an AE26, a 30 mm coin as an AE30, and so forth.

Values go all over the place, since some coin types are much scarcer than others. The values below are for most, common coin types. Some rare varieties are worth much more.

MOST, COMMON TYPES:
worn: $85 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $330
well preserved: $750

Guy mentions the legend on his coin: 'TI CAESAR AVGVST F IMPERAT V'. He also describes the altar of Lugdunum (Lyon, France) on the reverse. This coin type is known both for the sestertius and the as of Tiberius. However, the as (~10g, 26 mm) is about ten times as common as the sestertius (~25g, 34 mm). The sestertius catalogs at similarly higher values. You can see the importance of weighing and measuring your coins!

The coin in our secondary picture is a sestertius which plainly shows the altar on the reverse. This specimen is in about average circulated condition and sold for $4250 US dollars in a 2010 auction by Gemini Auctions. CoinQuest thanks Gemini for use of their coin photo. It's a nice one!
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