Bronze Sestertius of Tiberius, 27.73 g.
Title
Bronze Sestertius of Tiberius, 27.73 g.
Creator
Tiberius
Date
CE 22-23
Description
Obverse: Mule-drawn carpentum; S[ENATVS] P[OPVLVS]Q[VE] R[OMANVS]: the Senate and People of Rome; IVLIAE AVGVST[AE]: Julia Augusta.
Reverse: S[ENATVS] C[ONSVLTO]: by decree of the Senate; TI[BERIVS] CAESAR DIVI AVG[VSTI] F[ILIVS] AVGVST[VS] P[ONTIFEX] M[AXIMVS] TR[IBVNICIA] POT[ESTATE] XXIIII: Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, with tribunician power for the twenty-fourth time.
Style/Period: Early Roman Empire
This sestertius was issued under the emperor Tiberius, who ruled from AD 14 to 37. Tiberius was born to Emperor Augustus' wife Livia from a previous marriage and was named Augustus' successor in AD 13. Tiberius would take great time and care to both preserve the legacy of Augustus and his connection to Augustus through his mother Livia.
Tiberius’ honoring of family and lineage is represented on the obverse of this coin, which refers to honors decreed to Livia. The inscription refers to the name given to Livia after she was adopted into the Julian family, as stated Augustus’ will. The carpentum is a carriage reserved for use by important women in Roman society; on this coin it probably refers to a thanksgiving procession decreed by the Senate upon Livia’s recovery from a serious illness in AD 22. On the reverse, Tiberius associates himself with Augustus by adopting almost all of the titles Augustus took as emperor while at the same time honoring Augustus – and by association himself – as a divinity.
-- Sara Armstrong, LU '19
Bibliography: R. A. G. Carson, Coins of the Roman Empire (London and New York 1990), 9; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990), 57, no. 18; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (London 1978), 21-22, 280, no. 152, 348, pl. 44; Tacitus, The Annals, 1.8, 3.64, 5.1.
Tiberius’ honoring of family and lineage is represented on the obverse of this coin, which refers to honors decreed to Livia. The inscription refers to the name given to Livia after she was adopted into the Julian family, as stated Augustus’ will. The carpentum is a carriage reserved for use by important women in Roman society; on this coin it probably refers to a thanksgiving procession decreed by the Senate upon Livia’s recovery from a serious illness in AD 22. On the reverse, Tiberius associates himself with Augustus by adopting almost all of the titles Augustus took as emperor while at the same time honoring Augustus – and by association himself – as a divinity.
-- Sara Armstrong, LU '19
Bibliography: R. A. G. Carson, Coins of the Roman Empire (London and New York 1990), 9; C. Foss, Roman Historical Coins (London 1990), 57, no. 18; J. P. C. Kent, Roman Coins (London 1978), 21-22, 280, no. 152, 348, pl. 44; Tacitus, The Annals, 1.8, 3.64, 5.1.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Bought from Coin Galleries, February 21, 1962
Identifier
91.116
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
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Files
Citation
Tiberius, “Bronze Sestertius of Tiberius, 27.73 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/421.