Grail coin acquired! IVDAEA CAPTA sestertius joins the collection!

[Limes]

I cannot express enough my excitement for this addition. I personally believe this issue is a must have for my Roman imperial collection, because it's such an iconic coin. And not only did the victory in Iudaea boost the image of the Flavian dynasty, it also resulted in huge proceeds which were then used for important building projects which shaped the city of Rome until this day. Making this coin very appealing from a historical perspective. 

Sestertii referring to the victory in Judea come with various reverses and legends. I think it's okay to say that the two major reverse imageries are the issues with Vespasian in military attire holding spear and parazonium and standing on a helmet, and the issues where Vespasian is replaced with a standing Jewish captive, with his hands bound. I had no preference between the issue with or the issue without Vespasian however. Important for me was that the quality of the coin was decent and that it had not been altered (tooled), with the reverse legend legible and with a solid obverse portrait. I think this coin ticks those boxes, despite some obvious flaws. I have not detected any signs of tooling/smoothing and the coin appears unaltered. The coin comes with an almost black colouring/patina, with a few breaks on the obverse. In hand those appear more brown then on the digital tray shown here. I've used the photo's of the auctioneer or my digital tray, this is a first time. My camera freaks out when it comes to dark coins, and my own photo's were, well, just ugly. 

The seller also offered the purchase of a printed and plastified, 'certificate' for a small fee. Out of curiousity I decided to buy it and I have to admit it's quite nice. Recently, another auctioneer also offered a digital certificate per email, for free. Has anyone also noticed auctioneers offering this - to me at least - new service? And has anyone used it? 

I will enjoy this coin for a long, long time. Thanks for looking and share anything you want to. 

[Roman Collector]

That's a lovely coin with a beautiful dark chocolate patina! And I don't have to tell you about its historical importance. Coingratulations on the new acquisition!

Artemide has offered certificates of authenticity like this for as long as I can remember. A few V-coins dealers, such as Marc Breitsprecher and Forum Ancient Coins offer the same.

Here's one I purchased at that same auction.

Faustina I, 138-140 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.32 g, 31.7 mm, 11 h.
Rome, 145-147 CE.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Vesta standing left, holding long torch and palladium.
Refs: RIC 1125; BMCRE 1521; Cohen 113 corr.; Strack 1293; RCV 4618.

[Al Kowsky]

1 hour ago, Limes said:

I cannot express enough my excitement for this addition. I personally believe this issue is a must have for my Roman imperial collection, because it's such an iconic coin. And not only did the victory in Iudaea boost the image of the Flavian dynasty, it also resulted in huge proceeds which were then used for important building projects which shaped the city of Rome until this day. Making this coin very appealing from a historical perspective. 

Sestertii referring to the victory in Judea come with various reverses and legends. I think it's okay to say that the two major reverse imageries are the issues with Vespasian in military attire holding spear and parazonium and standing on a helmet, and the issues where Vespasian is replaced with a standing Jewish captive, with his hands bound. I had no preference between the issue with or the issue without Vespasian however. Important for me was that the quality of the coin was decent and that it had not been altered (tooled), with the reverse legend legible and with a solid obverse portrait. I think this coin ticks those boxes, despite some obvious flaws. I have not detected any signs of tooling/smoothing and the coin appears unaltered. The coin comes with an almost black colouring/patina, with a few breaks on the obverse. In hand those appear more brown then on the digital tray shown here. I've used the photo's of the auctioneer or my digital tray, this is a first time. My camera freaks out when it comes to dark coins, and my own photo's were, well, just ugly. 

The seller also offered the purchase of a printed and plastified, 'certificate' for a small fee. Out of curiousity I decided to buy it and I have to admit it's quite nice. Recently, another auctioneer also offered a digital certificate per email, for free. Has anyone also noticed auctioneers offering this - to me at least - new service? And has anyone used it? 

I will enjoy this coin for a long, long time. Thanks for looking and share anything you want to. 

Great addition ☺️!

[CPK]

Ah, couldn't wait to see this! What a topping new addition @Limes! It can be hard to find a nice enough IVDAEA CAPTA coin like that - especially a large bronze - for anything under a king's ransom and you did very well! That is a great classic portrait of Vespasian and the reverse is beautifully preserved. I love the patina. Heartiest congratulations! 👍

[David Atherton]

I am glad you finally got one! Nice style, decent surfaces, and plenty of eye appeal ... what more can you ask for?

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Great coin and one that also is on the bucket list.

Guess what? It ain't tooled!

Sadly a bit of a rarity these days.

 

[Octavius]

 That's a great looking and very appealing coin! The historical aspect is priceless.

[Limes]

thanks everyone for the reactions! I really appreciate it. 

21 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

That's a lovely coin with a beautiful dark chocolate patina! And I don't have to tell you about its historical importance. Coingratulations on the new acquisition!

Artemide has offered certificates of authenticity like this for as long as I can remember. A few V-coins dealers, such as Marc Breitsprecher and Forum Ancient Coins offer the same.

Here's one I purchased at that same auction.

Faustina I, 138-140 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.32 g, 31.7 mm, 11 h.
Rome, 145-147 CE.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Vesta standing left, holding long torch and palladium.
Refs: RIC 1125; BMCRE 1521; Cohen 113 corr.; Strack 1293; RCV 4618.

That's a great looking coin, congratulations! I guess I totally missed the certificate option 😄 If those would mention a grading (MS blablabla), it would even be a better option that those slabs! Or I am suggesting something very controversial here? 😉

[Roman Collector]

41 minutes ago, Limes said:

thanks everyone for the reactions! I really appreciate it. 

That's a great looking coin, congratulations! I guess I totally missed the certificate option 😄 If those would mention a grading (MS blablabla), it would even be a better option that those slabs! Or I am suggesting something very controversial here? 😉

Nothing controversial about it. It would be like getting a certificate from David Sear.