Vespasian IVDEA CAPTA Hoard coin

There are times when surfing the web late at night looking for coins others that may have missed, that it pays off. I was looking at the coins offered by Silbury coins. Lately I have been checking out their hoard coins looking for Flavian coins. I checked the hoard coins offerings and while there were some Flavian coins, none of them really called out to me. Before exiting the site I did a search for Vespasian denarii, and this one had just been posted.

Many of you would have seen a purchase of mine on an earlier thread. It was a RIC 4 for Vespasian. Yes, it is a IVDEA CAPTA coins and no it is not the one you usually see on offer. RIC 4 features a Jewish captive but with a palm tree instead of the usual trophy of arms you see on RIC 2.

Here is the first one I bought from Forum Ancient Coins this past August.



Here is the one I bought last night. While it is also worn, I think it is a significant upgrade. However, I will take these in almost any condition. If you are looking for one you might be waiting for quite a while to find one. For me the main selling point was the fact that the reverse on this coin features a very clear rendering of the letters in IVDEA.

The other selling point was the fact that this is a hoard coin. It is a part of the Westbury Sub-Mendip hoard. I have a few hoard coins and I love having these coin where the findspot has been identified. To me this is excellent provenance.

From the webpage:

“This coin is part of the Westbury Sub Mendip hoard of 188 Roman silver denari, found during 2016 by a metal detectorist, the hoard was subject of an archaeological excavation and was declared Treasure under The Treasure Act. With no museum wishing to acquire the coins they were returned to the finder and made available to private collectors by us.”






Please post your upgrades or your favourite coins of Vespasian.

Vespasian AR denarius, Rome mint, c. 21 Dec 69 - early 70 A.D.;
Obv: Laureate head right; IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG,;
Rev: Judaea or Jewess seated right on ground at foot of palm tree behind her, her hands bound behind and tied to the tree, IVDAEA in exergue;
RIC 4 (R), Hendin 1480, BMCRE II 43, RSC 229, SRCV I 2297
This coin is part of the Westbury Sub Mendip hoard of 188 Roman silver denari, found during 2016 by a metal detectorist
Ex: Silbury Coins

 

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I like the first one's portrait more. The second one looks like Vitellius.

 

Excellent find, Orfew. I'd love to have one of this variety with the palm tree someday.

 

Your second sentence was a further reason I wanted it. I really like these transition pieces and I have a few now. To me they are a snapshot of a tumultuous time in the history of the empire. I collect coins for the stories they tell and this portrait tells
An interesting one.

 

I sincerely hope you may find one soon. Your excellent and interesting collection deserves one.

I also want to thank you for your always positive posts. Your contributions on this forum are truly appreciated

 

Congratulations! I am pretty sure I saw that coin on the Silbury website recently when I was browsing there late at night myself!. You mean I'm not the only one who does that kind of thing?

 

My friend you are definitely not the only one. There are a few other forum members who do the same thing.

For me, I am writing my lectures for the Winter term which starts in January. It has meant that I have had to revise my approach to fit into an online only delivery model. After a few hours of intense intellectual activity I need a break and that is when I search for interesting coins.

 

Great coin Orfew. I've shown my judaea capta coin too many times so i wont show it again.

Haha, great way of finding relaxation.
A variant im sometimes guilty of doing is "frustration browsing". When an auction is not going well for me, I end up browsing the inventory of my favorite sellers to temper my frustration. Looking at other possible additions lights my mood. Sometimes I stumble up on a great opportunity however, and I forget the auction. E.g, this is how i found my Caligula denarius

 

Nice catch @Orfew

 

Very cool, @Orfew! And with a provenance to a specific hoard! Nice!!

Here's my most photogenic Vespasian:


Vespasian, AD 69-79.
Roman AR denarius, 3.18 g, 18.4 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 73.
Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII CEN, laureate head, right.
Rev: SALVS AVG, Salus seated left, holding patera, left hand at side.
Refs: RIC 58; RIC 2.1 522; BMCRE 87-89; Cohen/RSC 432; CBN 76; RCV 2307.

 

it does, but i like those trans coins...

 

Great coins @Orfew! I would really like to add a palm tree variety, but they are few and far between in gold. I particularly like the second coin's portrait. I also find the transitional portraits to be very interesting.

A Judaea Capta type was the highest type on my list for years, and I finally managed to cross it off this year. I bought this piece unpedigreed, but happily stumbled across it in a 1979 Leu sale (while looking for another coin), and from there, tracked it to Biaggi.




Obverse: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG laureate bust of Vespasian to right.


Reverse: IVDAEA in exergue; Mourning Jewess seated right, head resting on hand in attitude of mourning; behind, tropaion.


References: BN 89 no. 20-22; Calicò no. 643b; Hendin no. 1464; RIC² no. 1. Overbeck – Meshorer no. 300.

Provenance Ex Samel Collection, Kunker 334, March 2020, 2285; Leu 22, May 1979, 225; ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, 324; privately purchased from Ratto in 1952. Almost certainly from the Boscoreale Hoard of 1895

 

Very nice acquisition! Unusually, it has a Vitellian-like portrait, which is somewhat rare for the IVDAEA denarii. Perhaps a clue that the palm tree came before the trophy variant?

 

Maybe I am in the minority & am not a big fan of transition coins. If I am buying a coin of say, Vespasian, I want the portrait of him, not Vitellius.

That's why it was a bit easy to part with the Claudius Denarius I had. It was more Caligula looking, which is a prize to most, but it was a Claudius, not Caligula. I'm happy with my decision & it will be on the year-end review.

 

@Orfew.....Nice coin, the captive does look sullen!....Looks female to me?
Was flicking through your site this morning as I've yet to acquire a Vespasian coin and I'm now on the hunt.....What an impressive collection you have! Congrats on the latest addition.

 

personal reference...but i'd get every one i find that i could afford

 

Yes, I think that is a strong possibility David. Thanks for the kind words.

 

Many thanks for the kind comments! Yes I think it is a rather sullen female Jewish captive. Thanks also for the comments on my collection. This is greatly appreciated as I have worked hard to get the best collection I could afford.

 

Very nice purchase orfew, having a coin with the exact find location is fantastic. No question these types have the Vitellian look.

Here's mine, no hoard provenance but it is ex Harry Sneh Collection, so it has been in good company.

 

Wow @Nemo that is a superb coin! I also have coins that are Ex: Sneh and I feel very fortunate to have them.