Nothing overtly spectacularly new this week - just an average, ordinary Vespasian middle bronze. Vespasian Æ As, 10.55g Rome mint, 71 AD RIC 322 (R). BMC 612. Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: S C in field; Eagle stg. facing on globe, wings open, head r. Ex eBay 20 November, 2018. Ex Heritage. The eagle on globe type was sparingly struck at Rome on the As issues. Introduced during the great bronze mintage of 71, the type harkens back to a similar reverse struck for Divus Augustus under Tiberius and symbolises Vespasian as Augustus' worthy successor. The type was struck much more frequently at Lugdunum. I won this piece on eBay last month but just now got around to cataloguing and photographing it. Although not a 'wow' type of coin, it has a certain dignified beauty. The lovely dark green patina helps. It's not fully cleaned, even so, I'll keep it as is. Feel free to post your average/ordinary coins!
That coin is well-centered and well-patinated. It's just seen circulation. It served its purpose -- to facilitate commerce -- and did it well. I'm sure that coin's surface contains traces of centurion sweat, gladiator blood, lamp oil and pagan altar smoke! Here's a workaday Vespasian -- a well-circulated denarius with the Pax seated left reverse: So unremarkable that Sulzer had two copies back in the 18th century:
Nice honest coin David. Here's a very similar (average) coin to yours with an above average story to it...and it's the oldest pedigree coin in my collection IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII PP Laureate head of Vespasian right SC Eagle standing facing on globe, head right, wings spread Lugdunum mint 77-78 AD 8.77g RIC 1237 (C3); Sear 2362 From the collection of Gordon Wyatt Goldfinch (1895-1918) of Elfindale Road, London. With hand written old ticket citing #209 collection number. Ex-Artancient Ltd. Private Goldfinch was a passionate collector of Imperial Roman coinage. His personal catalog of coins dates to August 1910 when he was just 15 years of age. Goldfinch volunteered for service in 1914 with the 2nd London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. He died in service on March 28th, 1918 at the age of 23.
Nice workaday Vespasian As, David. I like its colors/patination. I just got this one a week ago or so - it is a dupondius, but it came in a Littleton Coin Co. flip described as an as. The radiate crown is visible and it is clearly brass, so I am pretty sure I described it right. Vespasian Æ Dupondius (74 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAES VESP AVG P M T P COS V CENS, radiate head left / FELICITAS PVBLICA S-C, Felicitas standing facing, head left, holding caduceus and cornucopiae. RIC 716; Cohen 152. (10.30 grams / 26 mm)