![ROMAN. Claudius, Sestertius, 'SPES AVGVSTA' [ARI-357] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ARI-357-1.jpg)
Description
Roman Empire, Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germānicus (Claudius I), Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty 41-54 AD, Æ Sestertius (24.84g, 33mm), Rome mint 41-42 AD. Obverse: Laureate head of Claudius I facing to the right, legend surrounds, “TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TR P IMP”. Reverse: Spes stands to the left, draped in stola and holding flower aloft in right hand and raising hem of stola with left, “SC” in exergue, legend surrounds, “SPES AVGVSTA”. RIC-99; Cohen-85; Sear-1853. A bold sestertius featuring quite the expressive portraiture struck well in nice style, the surfaces clear and with a deep, dark patina with a hint of green colouration, the reverse die appears worn and Spes soft in detail, near Extremely Fine, reverse good Very Fine.
The obverse Latin legend reads “Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribūnīciā Potestās, Imperātor”, with an English translation of “Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, Chief High Priest of the College of Pontiffs, invested with Tribunician Power, honoured with the title of Imperator”. The reverse Latin legend reads “Spēs Augusta”, literally translated as “Augustan Hope”, and the name of the central reverse figure. Spes, the goddess of Hope, was one of the divine personifications of the Imperial Cult of Virtues and was given the epithet “Augusta” to signify the hopes guaranteed by the Emperor – specifically, hope brought by the Augustus for the empire’s future and for dynastic continuity.
