Double denarius full#

Double denarius full#

The name is derived from semis, 'half' and 'tertius', 'third', in which 'third' refers to the third as: the sestertius was worth two full asses and half of a third.Įnglish-language sources routinely use the original Latin form sestertius, plural sestertii but older literature frequently uses sesterce, plural sesterces, terce being the English equivalent of tertius. The name sestertius means 'two and one half', referring to its nominal value of two and a half asses (a bronze Roman coin, singular as), a value that was useful for commerce because it was one quarter of a denarius, a coin worth ten asses. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. The sestertius (plural sestertii), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. JSTOR ( October 2007) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)ĭioscuri riding right, ROMA in linear frame below.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Here is where the trail of information regarding Herennia abruptly comes to an end, a poignant reminder of the role ancient coins serve as historical records.Ĭoin Details: ROMAN EMPIRE, Herennia Etruscilla, 249-251 AD, AR Antoninianus, Rome mint, 6th officina, 5th emission of Trajan Decius, early AD 251, NGC Grade: Ch AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5, Obverse: Draped bust right, wearing stephane, set on crescent, HER ETRVSCILLA AVG, Reverse: Fecunditas standing left, holding cornucopia and extending hand over child standing right with hands raised, FECVNDITAS AVG, References: RIC IV 55b (Trajan Decius) RSC 8.This article needs additional citations for verification. We know this because coins were still struck with her image and title as Augusta until 253 AD, corresponding to the end of Gallus’ reign. Herennia survived the epidemic, and retained the role of Augusta, despite any familial ties to Gallus.

Later the same year, Hostilian fell ill and died from disease that was ravaging the Empire. So respected was Herennia that she retained the title of Augusta, and Gallus even refrained from promoting his own wife to the role. To avoid civil war, the two agreed to share the throne as co-Augusti. In Rome, the Senate confirmed Hostilian, while at the front, the troops promoted Trebonianus Gallus. In parallel, two new Augusti were declared. Tragically, in mid 251 AD, both co-Augusti died in battle. Meanwhile, Herennia stayed in Rome with her younger son, Hostilian, and they looked after Rome's routine governance. He campaigned with his father against the Goths that were raiding the Moesian and Dacian provinces. The eldest, Herennius Etruscus, was named co-Augustus in early 251 AD. On the verso stands Fecunditas, the Roman goddess of fertility, holding a cornucopia in one hand and extending the other above a child, who looks up towards her with outstretched arms.Ĭommensurate with the coin’s imagery, Herennia bore Decius two sons. The bust also dons a stephane, a type of decorative wreath worn on the head. The latter represents the moon, and complements the radiate sun crown worn by the Augustus on his coinage. On the obverse, Herennia’s draped bust perches atop a crescent. This coin, a double denarius, was struck in Rome during her reign, sometime in early 251 AD. In 249 AD, Decius was named as Augustus, and shortly afterwards, Herennia as Augusta. Given her name, it is postulated that she was born of Etruscan lineage. It is believed that the couple married no later than 230 AD, therefore, Herennia was born in early 3rd century AD. The date and place of her birth are not known for certain. Such is the case of Herennia Etruscilla, wife of Trajan Decius. Fortunately, at least their coins survived, from which some information can be gleaned. For many Roman Empresses, particularly those of the 3rd century AD, very little of their life was ever recorded.