New coin - a very rare Vespasian Sestertius w/ a great portrait & unusual reverse!

[CPK]

Good day to all my fellow Numis Forum members! I hope that your weekend went well.

I recently was excited to add this coin to my collection: a very rare sestertius type of Vespasian, with an unusual reverse depiction of Pax:

VESPASIAN, AD 69-79
AE Sestertius (33.95mm, 25.19g, 6h)
Struck AD 71. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III, laureate head of Vespasian right
Reverse: PAX AVGVSTI, Pax standing right, holding branch in left hand and in right a torch with which she sets fire to a pile of arms and armor; statue of Minerva atop column to left with shield leaning against it, lighted altar to right; S C in exergue
References: RIC II 241 (R2), RCV -

A very rare type, toned with brassy highlights. A classic portrait of Vespasian combined with an unusual reverse design.

 

Two things drew me to this coin - first, the portrait. What a great classic Vespasian, wrinkles and all! He may have been Emperor of the Roman world, but he still looked like what he was: a grizzled old army veteran in his early sixties. The quality of numismatic portraiture which had been developed under Nero was carried on and heightened under the Flavians. If you need more convincing, take a look at this specimen, same type and same dies as my coin but in a much better state of preservation:

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Sestertius with bust of Vespasian – Works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]

The other thing that attracted me to this coin was the unusual reverse type. While the image of Pax setting fire to a pile of arms and armor is not necessarily an uncommon theme on Roman coinage, this more elaborate type depicting the scene with a column and altar was only struck under Vespasian, and all of the variants are very rare. CNG had this most informative description of the type:

“This most unorthodox representation of Pax belongs to the large and important series of aes issued in AD 71, the year that witnessed the joint triumph of Vespasian and Titus through the streets of Rome in celebration of their victory in Judaea. At this time, the Roman Empire had experienced five straight years of warfare, which had devastated the economy and threatened the very foundations of the empire. The goddess of peace here holds a flaming torch with which she sets fire to a heap of arms, the spoils of Rome's defeated enemies. This symbolic act was carried out in fulfillment of a vow undertaken to Rome's principal deities of war, Mars and Minerva. A statue of the latter appears atop a column accompanying the scene of celebration. The hope was that with the cessation of hostilities, the Roman people could now enjoy a period of tranquility under Flavian rule.” - Classical Numismatic Group (lot description)

Lastly, here is a video of the coin in hand:

 

Thanks for looking, and feel free to comment/post your own relevant coins!

[JayAg47]

That's a fantastic coin and an incredible image! Is Pax setting fire to the enemy’s armour, because the leather decoration around the waist on the armour shown looks like a typical Roman, maybe representing the Vitellian forces? I always thought the Romans viewed their military equipment as sacred, often associating it with their god Mars. I assumed that setting fire to such items would be seen as sacrilegious, especially since I’ve read that they didn’t even burn laurel leaves because they considered them holy.

Here's my Pax, both minted in the 70s, although 1900 years apart. 

Edited November 18, 2024 by JayAg47

[CPK]

1 minute ago, JayAg47 said:

That's a fantastic coin and an incredible image! Is Pax setting fire to the enemy’s armour? I always thought the Romans viewed their military equipment as sacred, often associating it with their god Mars. I assumed that setting fire to such items would be seen as sacrilegious, especially since I’ve read that they didn’t even burn laurel leaves because they considered them holy.

Here's my Pax, both minted in the 70s, although 1900 years apart. 

Oh wow, fantastic coin and medal! Funny you should post that since I have recently bought a few of those Paris medallions (yet to photograph, etc.). They're actually exact copies (but enlarged) of real ancient coins held by the BnF, minted by the Monnaies de Paris...which explains why they are of such beautiful authentic style. They're the finest modern reproductions I've ever seen.

Thanks for the kind words! Makes sense that it would be the enemy's armor Pax is immolating, not the Roman's. It's a very meaningful image, for sure!

[AETHER]

Beautiful looking coin. Love the brass.

Here is a brassy Vespasian I have to add..

Edited November 18, 2024 by AETHER

[Marsyas Mike]

Wow.  A spectacular sestertius for sure, @CPK.  Not so spectacular, but showing Pax setting fire to a pile of arms, are two recent additions to my collections - an as and a sestertius of Antoninus Pius.  Some of these have rather detailed piles of arms, but many, like mine, are mere lumps (or mostly off flan):

Sestertius:

 

As:

 

 

[CPK]

33 minutes ago, AETHER said:

Beautiful looking coin. Love the brass.

Here is a brassy Vespasian I have to add..

Thanks Aether! That's a great-looking coin - minted for the East, right? Nice portrait!

 

11 minutes ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Wow.  A spectacular sestertius for sure, @CPK.  Not so spectacular, but showing Pax setting fire to a pile of arms, are two recent additions to my collections - an as and a sestertius of Antoninus Pius.  Some of these have rather detailed piles of arms, but many, like mine, are mere lumps (or mostly off flan):

Sestertius:

 

As:

 

 

Thanks Mike! Interesting coins - I was a bit surprised to see that OCRE lists over 40 types depicting Pax setting fire to arms/armor (although again, all but the Vespasian issues show her simply standing with cornucopia.)

[David Atherton]

3 hours ago, CPK said:

Good day to all my fellow Numis Forum members! I hope that your weekend went well.

I recently was excited to add this coin to my collection: a very rare sestertius type of Vespasian, with an unusual reverse depiction of Pax:

VESPASIAN, AD 69-79
AE Sestertius (33.95mm, 25.19g, 6h)
Struck AD 71. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III, laureate head of Vespasian right
Reverse: PAX AVGVSTI, Pax standing right, holding branch in left hand and in right a torch with which she sets fire to a pile of arms and armor; statue of Minerva atop column to left with shield leaning against it, lighted altar to right; S C in exergue
References: RIC II 241 (R2), RCV -

A very rare type, toned with brassy highlights. A classic portrait of Vespasian combined with an unusual reverse design.

 

Two things drew me to this coin - first, the portrait. What a great classic Vespasian, wrinkles and all! He may have been Emperor of the Roman world, but he still looked like what he was: a grizzled old army veteran in his early sixties. The quality of numismatic portraiture which had been developed under Nero was carried on and heightened under the Flavians. If you need more convincing, take a look at this specimen, same type and same dies as my coin but in a much better state of preservation:

[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - Sestertius with bust of Vespasian – Works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]

The other thing that attracted me to this coin was the unusual reverse type. While the image of Pax setting fire to a pile of arms and armor is not necessarily an uncommon theme on Roman coinage, this more elaborate type depicting the scene with a column and altar was only struck under Vespasian, and all of the variants are very rare. CNG had this most informative description of the type:

“This most unorthodox representation of Pax belongs to the large and important series of aes issued in AD 71, the year that witnessed the joint triumph of Vespasian and Titus through the streets of Rome in celebration of their victory in Judaea. At this time, the Roman Empire had experienced five straight years of warfare, which had devastated the economy and threatened the very foundations of the empire. The goddess of peace here holds a flaming torch with which she sets fire to a heap of arms, the spoils of Rome's defeated enemies. This symbolic act was carried out in fulfillment of a vow undertaken to Rome's principal deities of war, Mars and Minerva. A statue of the latter appears atop a column accompanying the scene of celebration. The hope was that with the cessation of hostilities, the Roman people could now enjoy a period of tranquility under Flavian rule.” - Classical Numismatic Group (lot description)

Lastly, here is a video of the coin in hand:

 

Thanks for looking, and feel free to comment/post your own relevant coins!

Very rare indeed! A wonderful find.

I've only managed to add the dupondius variety of the type.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=163473

[CPK]

9 hours ago, David Atherton said:

Very rare indeed! A wonderful find.

I've only managed to add the dupondius variety of the type.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=163473

Thanks!

That's an excellent dupondius - and even more rare than the sestertius! Great score. 👍

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Congrats upon acquiring a rare type!

[CPK]

5 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Congrats upon acquiring a rare type!

Thank you!

[Qcumbor]

Great addition @CPK, with a very interesting reverse and strong portrait.

I tend to agree on the reverse die match with the Boston specimen, but am less certain for the obverse. Possibly an effect of the light, but the head on yours seems smaller, and the tip of the neck ends further than the III of COS III on the Boston example, while it's a bit inside on yours. Maybe my poor sight ...

Excellent example all the same though

Q

[CPK]

22 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Great addition @CPK, with a very interesting reverse and strong portrait.

I tend to agree on the reverse die match with the Boston specimen, but am less certain for the obverse. Possibly an effect of the light, but the head on yours seems smaller, and the tip of the neck ends further than the III of COS III on the Boston example, while it's a bit inside on yours. Maybe my poor sight ...

Excellent example all the same though

Q

Thanks! I see what you are saying. I think it may either be caused by a difference in strike, wear, and possibly, overzealous cleaning and/or smoothing which may have removed a bit of the base material. Here is the comparison I used, with a different coin, but a die match to the Boston specimen. This coin is faintly double struck as you can see along the front of Vespasian's face.

 

 

 

[ominus1]

...very kool man!...:) 

[CPK]

2 hours ago, ominus1 said:

...very kool man!...:) 

Thanks!

[Phil Davis]

Congrats! A nice clear example of a very cool type. Legitimately rare; I find 5 examples on CoinArchives, hammering for as much as 65K USD, for this wonderful example:

[CPK]

46 minutes ago, Phil Davis said:

Congrats! A nice clear example of a very cool type. Legitimately rare; I find 5 examples on CoinArchives, hammering for as much as 65K USD, for this wonderful example:

Thanks Phil! That Gemini coin is absolutely gorgeous. (Though I feel sorry for whoever took the loss when it sold a few years later for only $17,000 😬)

[Limes]

Fantastic addition @CPK! I absolutely love these kind of rarities with cool designs and with a historical reference. I absolutely couldn't care less about the condition/state of preservation as long as the most important details are there. 

Here are a couple of worn beauties in my collection. Rare, or otherwise difficult to get. And tot conclude, below also my only sestertius of Vespasianus. 

 

[CPK]

10 minutes ago, Limes said:

Fantastic addition @CPK! I absolutely love these kind of rarities with cool designs and with a historical reference. I absolutely couldn't care less about the condition/state of preservation as long as the most important details are there. 

Here are a couple of worn beauties in my collection. Rare, or otherwise difficult to get. And tot conclude, below also my only sestertius of Vespasianus. 

 

Thanks Limes! Those coins are winners, all of them. 🤩 Love that Caracalla especially, a great strike on a truly 'medallic' flan!

[Phil Davis]

10 hours ago, CPK said:

 That Gemini coin is absolutely gorgeous. (Though I feel sorry for whoever took the loss when it sold a few years later for only $17,000 😬)

With 20/20 hindsight, Heritage was a very poor choice by the consigner, especially unslabbed. I imagine they offered a favorable seller's commission rate, maybe 0%, but that's just a guess.