1st coin of 2018-Rare Vespasian denarius

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Orfew, Jan 13, 2018.

  1. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    I will be quite happy to add this to my 12 Caesar's collection. It is a denarius of Vespasian minted in Tarraco. The new RIC II, 1 lists this as R3-only one known ( in the Barcelona collection). I noticed that David Atherton also has one in his FAC gallery. I love the style of the portrait. To me this looks nothing like the Rome mint Pax seated examples.


    Please feel free to post your coins of Vespasian or anything related.

    Vespasianus, 69-79.Denar 69/70, Tarraco (Tarragona). Kopf / Pax mit Zweig und Caduceus auf Thron. RIC II/1, 1312 3.41 g.Äußerst selten Sehr schön - vorzüglich

    vesp 1312.jpg
     
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  3. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Very nice!
     
    Orfew likes this.
  4. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Cool! Looks like a more youthful Vitellius. I wonder if the engraver had not yet seen the new emperor?

    Very nice "old cabinet toning" and iridescence!
     
  5. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    Great coin in top condition.
     
    Orfew likes this.
  6. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ....my 1st thought was Galba( it really looks like a mixture of both).. it is a kool coin! :)
     
    Orfew and SeptimusT like this.
  7. SeptimusT

    SeptimusT Well-Known Member

    Beautiful toning, and a very interesting portrait.

    My only Vespasian so far:
    Vespasian copy.png
     
  8. Jwt708

    Jwt708 Well-Known Member

    Great catch @Orfew - good way to start off the new year!
     
    Orfew likes this.
  9. Aethelred

    Aethelred The Old Dead King

    I like any Vaspasian Denarius, but especially this one. I especially like the early style "we've never seen this new emperor so here is a generic Roman, don't worry, we'll fix it next year" portrait.
     
    TJC, Trebellianus, ominus1 and 2 others like this.
  10. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    Fantastic coin Andrew! However, I do have one caveat - I'm not 100% convinced our coins are actually from Tarraco! It is very difficult to provenance these early types to a particular provincial mint based on style alone. The early denarii of Vespasian from Rome varied so much in style it is almost futile to do so.

    Regardless, that is one heck of a lovely coin - Rome or Tarraco no matter!
     
    Volodya, Jay GT4 and ominus1 like this.
  11. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Thanks very much David. I wanted to hear from you regarding this coin. I am willing to accept that it might not be a coin of Tarraco, but the chance that it was, was enough. What mainly attracted me to the coin was the very unusual portrait.

    I saw your example before buying. I also looked at the entry in the new RIC. What ultimately persuaded me that this was probably a Tarraco coin was the remnants of a dot between COS and ITER. Of course it just could be part of the "S" instead.
     
    Jay GT4 and David Atherton like this.
  12. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    FWIW, I believe the same engraver is behind both your coin and the RIC plate coin.
     
  13. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Thanks for pointing that out. I did take a look at the plate and they do look similar.
     
  14. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Congrats on the score, @Orfew. Your coin came up right after the lot I won and I almost impulsive hit the bid button on it too. It’s a winner!
     
    Orfew likes this.
  15. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Thanks @zumbly That Judea Capta was a very nice capture. Congrats! I am glad that you decided not to take mine also!
     
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  16. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Gorgeous!
     
    Orfew likes this.
  17. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Great coin, with a wonderful toning to it, congrats : good start for 2018

    My CONCORDIA example

    [​IMG]
    Vespasian, Denarius Rome mint, AD 72-73
    IMP CAES VESP A VG PM COS IIII, laureate head right
    CONCORDIA AVGVSTI, Concordia seated left on throne, holding patera and cornucopia
    3.37 gr
    Ref : RSC # 74

    Q
     
  18. Jay GT4

    Jay GT4 Well-Known Member

    Great find Andrew. Looks like us Flavian collectors have been finding some really great coins lately. Congrats. Regardless of mint it's wonderful.
     
    Orfew likes this.
  19. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Hi Jay, yes that is true. I have noticed your stellar pickups lately. Great coins!
     
  20. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Sweet addition!
     
    Orfew likes this.
  21. Eduard

    Eduard Supporter**

    Very nice find, Andrew, :), and a special portrait for sure.
    Congratulations on your 1st of 2018!

    Even if attribution to Tarraco of your coin may not be certain (as David mentions), it for sure is a lovely coin.

    Tarraco produced some very interesting portraits with their own 'character', specially those of Galba, which deviated markedly from those of the Rome mint.

    Here is a denarius of Vitellius from Tarraco: corroded, but note the particular portrait.

    Vitellius denarius-Mars-obv - 1.jpg Vitellius denarius-Mars-rev - 1.jpg

    My 'controversial' denarius of Galba - Hispania
    Galba denarius HISPANIA - OBV1 - 1.jpg Galba denarius HISPANIA - Rev - 1-ccfopt.jpg

    Finally, one of my favorite denarius of Vespasian - Judaea Capta: Rome mint.
    Vespasian denarius-Judaea-Obv - 1.jpg Vespasian denarius-Judaea-Rev - 1.jpg



    ,
     
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