The Altar of Providence was a reoccurring minor monumental type struck throughout Vespasian's reign. Recently, I was very pleased to land a rare variant of this common type! Vespasian Æ As, 9.59g Lyon mint, 72 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG COS IIII; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; globe at point of bust Rev: PROVIDENT in exergue; S C in field; Garlanded Altar RIC 1201 (R). BMC spec. acquired 1936. BNC -. Acquired from CGB.fr, April 2021. Originally, Tiberius struck the Provident altar type for Divus Augustus. The altar depicted is dedicated to Providentia, the personification of the emperor's divine providence. Although the type is commonly described as an altar, Marvin Tameanko has convincingly argued it is actually a sacellum, or small shrine. This popular type was later revived during the Civil War by Galba and Vitellius. Vespasian began striking it early in his reign both at Rome and Lyon. This rare ornate variant depicts the altar as garlanded. Show off your rare or unusual minutiae!
You're landing quite a few Flavian's these days @David Atherton! How about the coin cited in your post? That's all that I can contribute...
I love flyspecking, @David Atherton! You do too! No pearls in Faustina's hair. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman Æ As, 8.35 g, 25.0 mm, 6 h. Rome, AD 161-164. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: HILARITAS S C, Hilaritas standing left, holding long palm-branch in right hand and cornucopia in left hand. Refs: RIC 1643 var.; BMCRE 982 var.; Cohen 113 var.; RCV 5296; MIR 15-7/10b. Notes: This coin is a variety of the RIC, BMCRE and Cohen specimens in that Faustina wears no strands of pearls in the hair.
That's a very ttractive example of this type, @David Atherton ! Here is a coin with some very interesting monumental minutiae that will almost certainly make it to my "top 10 below $25" this year. The reverse of this denarius shows the temple of Divus Augustus with a tiny double statue of Livia and Augustus. Construction on the temple started shortly after Augustus's death in 14 AD. This coin was minted when the temple was restored under Antoninus Pius: Antoninus Pius, Roman Empire, denarius, 145–161 AD, Rome mint. Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP, laureate head of Antoninus Pius r. Rev: TEMPLVM DIV AVG REST COS IIII; front view of octastyle temple, containing statues of Divus Augustus and Livia. 17mm, 2.62g. Ref: RIC III Antoninus Pius 143 (denarius).