David Atherton Posted April 1 · Member Share Posted April 1 (edited) 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! Edited April 1 by David Atherton 15 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted April 1 · Supporter Share Posted April 1 That is an impressive provenance! Remarkable that it managed to remain under the radar. The coin is a beauty, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZ Numismatics Posted April 1 · Member Share Posted April 1 It's a stunning coin! I always feel a thrill at acquiring a plate coin, even though I know it's not objectively a huge deal - most authors use whatever coins they have available to them for plates. Still, I feel like I've acquired a "famous" coin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted April 1 · Member Author Share Posted April 1 (edited) 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!! Edited April 1 by David Atherton 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor DonnaML Posted April 1 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted April 1 6 hours ago, David Atherton said: 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!! Congratulations -- a fantastic find. Do you agree with the Schulman description that the coin is "slightly tooled," if I'm reading it correctly? For those of us who don't have the RIC volume, could you please also post the RIC plate photo of the coin? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Conduitt Posted April 1 · Supporter Share Posted April 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted April 1 · Member Author Share Posted April 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, DonnaML said: Congratulations -- a fantastic find. Do you agree with the Schulman description that the coin is "slightly tooled," if I'm reading it correctly? For those of us who don't have the RIC volume, could you please also post the RIC plate photo of the coin? 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. Edited April 1 by David Atherton 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted April 1 · Member Author Share Posted April 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, John Conduitt said: 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. Edited April 1 by David Atherton 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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