David Atherton Posted October 2, 2022 · Member Share Posted October 2, 2022 (edited) It's not often when surfing the web I come across a coin in trade and simply say "wow". This is one of those coins. Beyond doubt one of the biggest surprise purchases of the year. Vespasian Æ Sestertius, 24.67g Rome mint, 72-73 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS IIII; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: S C in exergue; Vespasian riding r., spearing fallen foe RIC 386 (R). BMC 622. BNC 610. Hendin 1518. Acquired from Aegean, September 2022. This extremely rare reverse type featuring a rider spearing a fallen enemy combatant most likely alludes to the Jewish War (per Hendin), although H. Mattingly in BMCRE II conjectures it refers to the contemporary campaigns in Dacia or Germany. It was sparingly struck for Vespasian in just one issue and slightly more frequently for Titus Caesar through several issues. Only one die pair is known for the Vespasian variant - a testament to its great rarity! I could locate only one heavily tooled example in trade on asearch. OCRE and RIC cites two examples, one in the BM and the other in Paris. IMHO, the RIC frequency rating of 'rare' seems a bit understated. Did the RIC authors know of any other specimens? NB: Because of its extreme rarity, this type for Vespasian could possibly be a mule with a reverse intended exclusively for Titus Caesar. Although heavily worn, this is one of those coins I will treasure and consider myself lucky for having obtained it. Do you have a similar story or any coins showing an emperor as an "action hero"? As always, thanks for looking! Edited October 2, 2022 by David Atherton 14 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prieure de Sion Posted October 2, 2022 · Member Share Posted October 2, 2022 4 hours ago, David Atherton said: Do you have a similar story or any coins showing an emperor as an "action hero"? Thanks again for this next Flavian Thread from you. I always enjoy your Flavier threads. I'll see later if I also have an emperor as a hero in the collection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limes Posted October 2, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted October 2, 2022 Neat addition to your collection! It reminds me of a dupondius of Trajan I no longer have, with a similar reverse. Do you think this reverse was based on the reverse of Vespasian? Or was it some sort of general image of propogandic nature, whenever an emperor needed to be shown as a strong military man? I mostly have static reverses showing buildings or referring to certain conquests, or events, rather than action scenes. One coin with a bit of emperor - on - horse action, is the worn denarius below of Galba, but it lacks the spearing of someone. More as if he is rallying the troops. 10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted October 2, 2022 · Member Share Posted October 2, 2022 Cool acquisition! It's an eagle-eyed acquisition to a nice collection. I think I probably only have 8 or 9 Titus and Vespasians total, over a period of 30 years of collecting (unless some are lurking in the mysterious misplaced bag of bulk Asses) . Domitian is the Flavian whom I enjoy the most. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted October 2, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted October 2, 2022 Thanks again @David Atherton! I really enjoy your Flavian posts. Congratulations on acquiring such an extraordinary rarity! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor LONGINUS Posted October 2, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted October 2, 2022 That’s an amazing find, @David Atherton Seeing your coin gives me pause to reevaluate what I thought I knew about Vespasian. Here’s my recently acquired emperor in action. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted October 3, 2022 · Member Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 9 hours ago, Limes said: Do you think this reverse was based on the reverse of Vespasian? Or was it some sort of general image of propogandic nature, whenever an emperor needed to be shown as a strong military man? Trajan most likely was copying the Domitianic version, which in turn was based on this Vespasianic one. I do believe it was a generic motif designed to advertise the emperor's military prowess. Here's Domitian's version for comparison. Domitian Æ Sestertius, 26.14g Rome mint, 85 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG GERM COS XI; Bust of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r., with aegis Rev: S C in exergue; Domitian riding r. with shield, striking with spear at falling German RIC 280 (C). BMC 300A. BNC 317. Ex Roma Numismatics E-Sale 88, 9 September 2021, lot 843. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted October 3, 2022 · Member Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 4 hours ago, LONGINUS said: Seeing your coin gives me pause to reevaluate what I thought I knew about Vespasian. Hendin believes this reverse design for Titus is based on an actual event retold in by Josephus in The Jewish War (5.2). Was there a similar incident for Vespasian? Gamala? I don't think so. The type is very generic and likely does not commemorate one event retold in a contemporary history. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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