The Roman Empire
Tiberius caesar, 9 – 14. A complete set of the Altar of Lugdunum Series for Tiberius
Sestertius Lugdunum 12-14, Æ 24.95 g. TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR VII Laureate head of Tiberius r. Rev. Front elevation of the Altar of Lugdunum, decorated with the corona civica between laurels and flanked by nude male figures; to l. and r., Victories on columns, facing each another. In exergue, ROM ET AVG. C 35. BMC Augustus 580. RIC Augustus 248a corr. (AVGVST F). CBN Augustus 1761.
Very rare. Brown tone and about very fine Ex Triton sale IX, 2006, 1380.

No doubt the toughest portrait in a sestertius is that of Tiberius. This is the only option, and minted during the reign of Augustus. In 20 years of collecting I never found one that was better by enough margin to upgrade this piece. It is worthy of consideration because they just don’t come along very often! MSG.

This series would recommence coinage in 12 AD, after the naming of Tiberius as the heir of Augustus and apparently continuing up until the time of Augustus’ death in 14 AD. Here the series is split between images of Augustus and that of Tiberius. The middle bronzes for Tiberius are common enough that they can be found in VF grade with some regularity. The semis is rarer and the sestertius is extremely rare. The wear pattern on these coins is typical for a provincial minting location as it seems obvious that virtually the entire mintage saw heavy circulation. What is somewhat unusual for an Imperial mint (and Lugdunum was an imperial mint) is that the coins are rather haphazardly struck. Good centering of the obverse/reverse is rarely accomplished and coins which show complete legends and design details are elusive. The precious metal coinage from this mint would receive much more care in striking and it remains unclear why these bronzes suffered as they did. For the history of the Altar of Lugdunum see under lot 83. MSG.