Roman dupondius struck under Tiberius circa 16-22 AD

 
Roman dupondius struck under Tiberius circa 16-22 AD
 
Obverse: Laureate bust of Tiberius to left, around TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VIII
 
Reverse: Shield with floral decorations, facing bust of Tiberius at center in wreath, MODERATIONI around, S C to left and right.
 
Origin: Minted at Rome.
 
Materials and method: Struck in a copper alloy, possibly orichalcum.
 
Dimensions: 21 mm diameter.
 
Weight: 15.93 gm
 
Date of creation: 16 – 22 AD.
 
Condition: good Very Fine with a beautiful multi-coloured patina. This coin had a heavy patina when found and has been cleaned and the patina reduced to reveal the details of the coin below. This is referred to as “smoothing”. If the cleaning affects the metal and not just the patina on the metal, it is usually called “tooling” (which is usually intended to alter the actual coin). Although it has been smoothed and cleaned, I don’t believe the metal of the coin has been affected or altered.
 
References: RIC 39; BMC 90.
 
Stock no: C010
 
Price: On request
 
Provenance: From the Neal Archer collection. It was previously with Laurie Nugent. I first saw it when it was with him in the 1970s.
 
Other comments: A difficult coin to find in good condition and with such a wonderful portrait of Tiberius. Those who collect the portraits of the emperors usually have Tiberius represented by a denarius on which there is much less scope for artistic expression because of the smaller size. And on this piece, one gets two portraits of Tiberius, one of which is a facing portrait. A search conducted on AC search reveals about 20 examples and this one appears to be one of the nicest.
 
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