David Atherton Posted June 26, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 26, 2023 (edited) I love the Flavian coinage struck in 79 AD. As a child, my initial interest in the dynasty was sparked by reading about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in August 79 ... so, acquiring any coins from that year is almost a nostalgic excercise. My latest addition is from that personally magical year - a Vespasian dupondius which could have been the last coin struck for the ageing emperor. VespasianÆ Dupondius, 12.58g Rome mint, 79 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIAN COS VIIII; Head of Vespasian, radiate, l. Rev: CERES AVGVST; S C in field; Ceres stg. l., with corn ears and poppy and sceptre RIC 1092 (R). BMC p. 177 ||. BNC -. Vespasian's bronze issue struck in 79 (between 1 January and 24 June) was very brief, likely owing to his death in June. Consequently, all the coins from the issue are extremely rare. Only one reverse type is recorded for the dupondii - the standing Ceres, carried-over from previous bronze issues. Missing from both the BM and Paris collections. Oddly, the coin arrived from the Swiss seller inside an old cassette cartridge. Unfortunately (?) the tape wasn't included. As always, thank you for looking/watching! Edited June 26, 2023 by David Atherton 12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Posted June 26, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 26, 2023 Cool coin. Also notice the horizontal line over IIII indicating numbers and not letters. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted June 26, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted June 26, 2023 May indeed be one of the last struck. If so, nice find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kali Posted June 26, 2023 · Member Share Posted June 26, 2023 That is a special one, congrats, David. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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