David Atherton

The video shows the coin as it really is 'in hand' and those 'green' spots are not present. Apologies, I should have adjusted the photo's colour more accurately.

Normally, I don't purchase uncleaned coins, but one that's decently rare is hard to resist. Vespasian Æ As, 11.99g Rome mint, 75 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESP AVG COS VI; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: AEQVITAS AVGVST; S C in field; Aequitas stg. l., with scales and rod RIC 821 (R). BMC -. BNC 739. Ex Savoca Blue 202, 23 March 2024, lot 375. Vespasian's bronze coinage output in 75 was very meagre. Even this common Aequitas type is considered rare in RIC. Obverse die match with the Oxford and Paris specimens. In hand. Any advice on cleaning it is most welcomed! Thanks for looking!

Beautiful denarius! They don't come much better than that!

My latest coin features a Vespasian reverse type you don't often see in trade. An early military themed reverse that became less needed as Vespasian's secure control on the empire was firmly established later in the reign. Vespasian Æ As, 8.82g Rome mint, 71 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: S C in field; Aquila between two standards, all on prows RIC 320 (R). BMC 613. BNC 591. Acquired from CGB, March 2024. The aquila between two standards type was struck early in Vespasian's reign to honour the loyalty of the legions. The aquila, which featured an eagle clutching a thunderbolt, was the most important standard of any legion. With the recent successful completion of the Civil War and Jewish rebellion, the immense value of the legion's support is not lost on Vespasian! The type was later revived under Titus and Domitian for their cistophori. In hand. As always, thank you for looking!

In honour of the Great American Eclipse happening in just a few hours, I thought it would be appropriate to post a somewhat relevant coin. Pliny the Elder in his Natural Histories tells of an eclipse occurring in 71 during Vespasian reign... 'The eclipse of both sun and moon within 15 days of each other has occurred even in our time, in the year of the third consulship of the elder Emperor Vespasian and the second consulship of the younger.' This was a partial solar eclipse on 20 March 71 AD. And here is a coin likely struck within a few weeks of the event. It depicts Fortuna the goddess of luck on the reverse, with the cloud cover over the NE US and Canada I think she is quite appropriate! Vespasian Æ Sestertius, 26.66g Rome mint, 71 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: FORTVNAE REDVCI; S C in exergue; Fortuna stg. l., with branch and rudder on globe, and cornucopiae RIC 157 (C). BMC 756. BNC 482. Acquired from CGB, March 2023. I'll be heading up to my parents about an hour north of me in the path of totality in northern OH. Hopefully the clouds will break or thin enough at eclipse time! Feel free to post any relevant coins!

I really like the stylish portrait of Titus Caesar on this rare as struck in 77-78 AD. Although the bronze coinage output dwindled as Vespasian's reign rolled along, the coins themselves became more refined and, dare I say, more 'Flavian' than those of previous issues. The peaks and valleys of the early years was gone, replaced by refined craftsmanship. I think this as is a splendid example of such. Titus as Caesar [Vespasian] Æ As, 10.74g Rome mint, 77-78 AD Obv: T CAESAR VESPASIANVS TR P COS VI; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: S C in field; Spes stg. l., with flower RIC 1031 (R). BMC -. BNC 784. Acquired from CGB, March 2024. Spes, the goddess of hope, is seen here as an 'heir apparent' type. She is represented on Roman coins as a young girl, reminiscent of earlier Greek cult statues depicting Elpis. H. Mattingly in BMCRE II says 'the flower held by Spes is an opening bud, she is raising her skirt in order to hasten forward'. Spes occurs quite commonly under Vespasian and is frequently paired up with all three Flavians as a hopeful expression of future dynastic success. This variety struck for Titus Caesar in 77-78 is quite scarce and is much more common from the Lugdunum mint. Missing from the BM. In hand. Thanks for looking!

Honestly, the only thing I like about VaultBox are the unboxing videos. Vicarious gambling.

That has a stylish portrait. Very nice!

It doesn't get much better than this! A rare variety with questionable denomination status, combined with an engraver's error cited in RIC. A coin seemingly tailor made for a specialist! Domitian as Caesar [Titus] Engraver's Error Æ As?, 11.03g Rome mint, 79 AD Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS VI; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: PAX AVGST (sic); S C in field; Pax stg. l., leaning on column, with caduceus and branch RIC 85 (R2, note p. 204, this coin). BMC 747 (Vesp.). BNC -. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 82. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Roman Lode VAuction, 2004. Titus' first issue of bronze coinage in 79 was quite meager, all are fairly rare today. This first issue Domitian as Caesar bronze is either a dupondius or as - the weight suggests the former, the colour of the metal (copperish) the latter. RIC catalogues this issue under Titus, though it is possible it was struck prior to Vespasian's death in June. The reverse legend features an engraver's error - AVGST instead of AVGVST, cited in RIC. In hand. Thank you for looking!

Congrats on the new rarity! Sometimes it all just works out...

Thank you! I believe the RIC authors were referencing a photo file or a plaster cast the Dutch Royal Cabinet had of the coin. That would explain how it was sold in 1971 in a private auction, yet was cited by RIC in The Hague collection in 2007.

In hand, l see no evidence of tooling, but the reverse fields do have old cleaning marks. Perhaps this is what they are referring too? The deposits on the devices and in the fields tell me this piece is fairly unaltered.

Major EDIT! With the help of @AnYangMan the provenance is almost complete! The piece is indeed ex Dutch Royal Cabinet and was listed in Schulman auction 254 in 1971! Many thanks @AnYangMan!!

My latest coin proves it's sometimes beneficial to do your own provenance research... you'll never know what you may find! Vespasian Æ Sestertius, 24.63g Rome mint, 71 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: PAX AVGVSTI; S C in field; Pax std. l., with branch and sceptre RIC 186 (R2, this coin). BMC -. BNC 521. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 10. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Schulman 254, 11-12 November 1971, lot 3376. Ex Dutch Royal Cabinet, The Hague. An extremely rare sestertius variety featuring Pax seated on the reverse. Normally on Vespasian's bronze coins she is seen standing or leaning on a column. The provenance presented quite a puzzle. Clay writes 'same dies' as the RIC plate coin from The Hague collection, but clearly it is the same piece! The Hague collection was incorporated into the Geldmuseum of Utretch, which in turn was closed in 2013. Most of the Geldmuseum coins were sent to the Dutch National Bank where they reside today. Clay must have purchased the coin in 1971 via Schulman auction 254 which listed this coin (lot 3376) from the Dutch Royal Cabinet. RIC erroneously assumed the piece was still part of the Royal Cabinet collection when it was transferred to the Geldmuseum! The auction provenance was either forgotten or lost. Besides being a plate coin, this example comes with a high relief portrait in fine style! In hand. As always, thank you for looking and watching!

At Pompeii the going rate was between 2 and 20 asses ... so perhaps you'd need a purse full of quadrantes!

This wasn't expensive and I was missing it... plus, it's a pretty handsome piece! Domitian Æ Quadrans, 1.97g Rome Mint, 81-82 AD Obv: IMP DOMIT AVG; Head of Minerva, helmeted, r. Rev: S C in laurel wreath RIC 125 (C). BMC 486. BNC -. Acquired from Gert Boersema, February 2024. A fairly common early Domitianic quadrans, struck either in 81 or early 82. The quadrans in the early imperial period typically lacked an imperial portrait, here instead we have Domitian's patron deity Minerva on the obverse. Tariffed at a quarter of an as, the denomination was possibly deemed too lowly by mint officials to warrant a portrait. They were struck haphazardly and functioned primarily as an urban low value coinage in Rome and central Italy. The quadrans was the typical fee for entry into the baths, a urinal, or for a tryst in a cheap brothel. Being of rather low value quadrantes were not typically hoarded and thus are relatively scarce today being virtually absent from site finds outside central and south-central Italy (in contrast, over 1,827 quadrantes have been found at Pompeii). In hand. Thanks for looking!

He knows quality when he sees it!

I used to agree with all of what you say, but ... What got me thinking about this more seriously was a recent coin I added. Vespasian Æ Sestertius, 23.86g Rome mint, 71 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r., with aegis Rev: PAX AVGVSTI; S C in field; Pax stg. l., with branch and cornucopiae RIC 182 (R3, this coin). BMC -. BNC -. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 9. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex CNG E93, 7 July 2004, lot 83. Not described in the HJB catalogue as 'smoothed', but the earlier CNG listing mentions 'light smoothing'. I suppose after hearing Aaron B's opinion on the matter I now know why it wasn't mentioned! This was the first coin I have knowingly purchased that has smoothing (almost certainly there are others unknowingly so). The above coin is provenanced to the Curtis Clay Collection and cited by RIC ... if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me! This coin, and Aaron's comments made me rethink my opinion on the matter. I don't believe the above coin is egregiously smoothed, but then again I have no Idea what it looked like before hand. Possibly, the smoothing was part of the cleaning process since most of the black patina is still intact. At any rate, I voted yes. IMHO, a little smoothing is acceptable with these big bronzes, otherwise you will have precious little to collect!

That's a fantastic reverse! I love it. Congrats!

I was going to link the video in the OP so folks could hear his own explanation, but couldn't remember which episode it was (I think it was in January).

Recently, Aaron Berk on his Ancient Coins Youtube Podcast stated light smoothing on bronze coins doesn't bother him at all. He equated it as part of the cleaning process. So, I was wondering how everyone here felt about it. Light smoothing of corrosion or patina in the fields as part of cleaning the process, yay or nay?

Thanks! I think with videos, especially for big bronzes, you get a better idea of their heft.

Probably this one as Caesar under Titus. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=156227 They really don't come much better than that. I think it's no accident it's provenanced to a portrait painter.

I'm never disappointed when receiving a Domitian bronze ... especially his early ones, which can be quite pleasing in hand (the video shows this aspect off better). Domitian Æ Sestertius, 26.73g Rome mint, 82 AD Obv: IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMITIAN AVG P M; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: TR P COS VIII DES VIIII P P; S C in field; Minerva stg. l., with spear RIC 105 (C2). BMC 274. BNC 285. Acquired from Classic World Coins, February 2024. Minerva's prominence on Domitian's coinage first showed up on his early bronzes produced in 81-82 before she dominated his denarii. While Domitian's initial denarius output is dominated by the carry-over pulvinar types from Titus, his first two issues of sestertii have a more personal touch with the reverses featuring his patron deity. This common sestertius struck in early 82, just prior to the mint's overhaul later the same year, demonstrates that the finest engravers were not just reserved for Domitian's aurei. A superb portrait and fine reverse. In hand. Thanks for looking!

Welcome back to the fold! Stay away from Flavians, they're overrated.