Senatus Consulto (S.C.) Roman Coins

 

The Senate was a political Institution in the ancient Roman Kingdom. The Senate is said to be created by Rome's first king, Romulus, (753-716 BC) initially consisting of 100 men. The Senate held three principal responsibilities. It functioned as the ultimate repository for the executive power, it served as the king's council, and it functioned as a legislative body in concert with the people of Rome. During the years of monarchy, the Senate's most important function was to elect new kings. While the king was normally elected by the people, it was actually the Senate who chose each new king.

When the Republic began, the Senate consisted of 300-500 senators who served for life. The Senate of the Roman Republic passed decrees called ''Senatus Consulta'', which inform constituted ''advice'' from the senate to a magistrate. These decrees usually were obeyed in practice. The first emperor, Augustus (27 BC-14AD), reduced the size of the Senate to about 100 to 200 active seniors at one time, out of a total of about 600 total senators. 

What exactly does the Senate have to do with coins. The SC also appears on base metal coins of Antioch and Cyprus, far away from the purview of the Senate. It also continues long past the time when the senate itself and its decrees had any relevance. When these letters EX. S.C are found on Roman coins, they signify, not that the Senate caused them to be struck, but the coinage of them had the ''Senatus Consultum'' or senatorial sanction when struck. EX. S.C appears on many family coins, but in the Imperial series, the mark is observed on coins of Augustus, Agrippa, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Faustina, Marciana, Hadrian, and Sept Severus. 

                              

These base metal coins inscribed with S.C. contained messages for the public, as these coins had the widest reach and the best possibility of making an impact. For most ordinary Romans, this is what coinage was, and the message it sent was simple, the existence and importance of ''senate consultum'' (the text emanating from the senate) and the Senate in general. The ordinary Roman could look at one of these coins and see that Senate still existed and still mattered. 

Coins with S.C                            

Augustus, Rome Mint 16 BC, weight 9.9 g, Obverse: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head of Augustus facing right, Reverse: C CASSIVS CELER around S.C.     

                           

Tiberius, Rome Mint, 21-22 AD, weight 9.8 g, Obverse: TI CAESAR DIVI, bare head of Tiberius facing left, Reverse: PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN, around S.C.

                            

Claudius, Antioch mint, 41-54 AD, weight 15 g, Obverse: IM TI CLA CAE, laureate head facing right, Reverse: Large SC within wreath  

                           

Ostrogoths Theodahad, 534-536 AD, follis, Rome mint weight 12.1g, Obverse: D N THEEO DAHATVS REX, mustached and mantled bust right, wearing ornate decorated with pectoral cross, Reverse: VICTORIA PRINCIPVM, SC across field, Victory standing right, holding palm across left shoulder and wreath in right hand 

Senatus Consulto (S.C.)

S.C on Roman Coins