The only ancient image of a Vesta Temple I ever owned was on a cast Sestertius of Trebonianus Gallus that I no longer have. So here is the interpretation I created for my project of a scale model of the Forum Romanum in Lego. Note that while the surviving structure on the Forum indicates that there were twenty columns, the temples seen on the coinage are tetra- or hexastyle. Please post your coins featuring circular temples!
Great job with the Lego, @Julius Germanicus ! I always enjoy seeing your creations! Here's a temple of Vesta coin. It's not exactly FDC, but I'm not exactly a millionaire! Julia Domna, AD 193-217. Roman Æ as, 9.85 g, 25 mm. Rome, AD 214. Obv: IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, diademed and draped bust, right. Rev: VESTA SC, Temple of Vesta with four Vestals in scene of sacrifice; lighted altar in center. Refs: RIC 607; BMCRE 232-33; Cohen 234; RCV 7137.
Neat! I always wondered why the coins of the Flavians and Severans seem to show a tetrastyle (showing four columns) and those of Nero a hexastyle (showing six colums) Vesta temple. Was the layout of the building changed during antiquity, was there ever more than one such temple, or were the celators just simplifying the view? My version has 12 columns (the only possible way to create such a building with equal distances in between the columns in this medium), so it would appear as hexastyle. A temple with 20 columns however should show eight or ten of them in a frontal view which was maybe too much to put on a coin design (especially if there are the Vestals featured also like on your coin).
Denarius of Nero 65-66 A.D. Rv. Domed Hexastyle Temple of Vesta. RIC 62 3.45 grms 17 mm Photo by W. Hansen
