Coins

A small number of provincial coins have been found which celebrate the consulship of Sejanus.

Coin of Tiberius from ForumRomanCoins.com

This smaller copper coin has a badly worn head of Tiberius on one side. The other side has a centrepiece of COS (consulship) plus a wreath. The legend reads Tiberius Caesar V [consul for the fifth time] L Aelius Sejanus. Then the name of place it is minted (Augusta Bilbilis). The coin celebrates the joint consulship.

There are further coins, an example of which is below.

Bronze coin of Tiberius from ForumRomanCoins.com

This coin is almost identical, but is better preserved. But someone has very carefully erased Sejanus’ name.

Rome had condemned the memory of Sejanus. His name was to be erased from all public monuments. Someone thought it worthwhile going through all the coins issued by this town and erasing all mention of Sejanus. Of course, everyone would have known what had been on the coin and every time they saw the coin, they would be aware of what had happened to him.

The Foresight of Tiberius

Two brief inscriptions refer to Sejanus. One from the town of Interamna in Umbria is a dedication ‘To the ever-lasting august safety and public liberty of the people of Rome, to the genius of the town 74 years after the foundation of Interamna to Cn Domitius Ahenobarbus and [name erased] (consuls of AD 32) for the foresight of Tiberius Caesar son of Augustus having raised up to eternity the Roman name from a most destructive enemy of the Roman people…’. (ILS 157).

Another dedication from Gortyn on Crete is ‘to the divine spirit and foresight of Ti Caesar Augustus and the senate in memory of that day 15th of the Kalends of November’. The name was not required, because that date (October 18th) was the day of the fall of Sejanus.

That the two dedications are similar suggests that that they are a response to a senatorial decree praising the foresight of Tiberius. These two towns, and possibly many others, thought it advisable to publicly celebrate his fall.

In the lists of consuls that were later inscribed, Sejanus’ name is missed out, as if there were only one consul in AD 31, Tiberius.

Sejanus as Partner in Power                                                     Death of Sejanus