Vespasian and his two sons -- Titus and Domitian -- ruled the Roman empire relatively benignly and competently from A.D. 69 to A.D. 96. During their reigns, hundreds if not thousands of different coin types were minted in the typical Roman fashion of promoting political agendas and propaganda. Probably the most notable achievement during that reign was the completion of the Colosseum, an ancient wonder of the world that still stands as a testament to the quality of Roman engineering and construction. Although I don't have a Colosseum sestertius (that's one of Ancient Joe's signal coins), I was imagining what it might have been like to be a coin collector during that period and what an ancient "mint set" of portrait coins for each emperor might have looked like for such a collector. While there might be some debate over what would constitute an ancient "mint set," at a minimum a collector would want a small bronze (as or dupondius), sestertius, denarius, and aureus during each emperor's lifetime. So rather than a group portrait of the emperors in each denomination, I created a different "mint set" look at this family of rulers that I thought might be interesting to CTers (note that the coins are displayed in their relative sizes):
What an outstanding collection! The presentation is very visually engaging. I tried to pick a favorite but it is impossible. The Domitian sestertius is spectacular... but then again so is each and every one in the set. I'm so glad that people like you and AncientJoe are active on this forum. Seeing your posts is a real treat.
Well done Ides. Your coins are phenomenal. And it's quite an accomplishment to assemble a mint set for the Flavian Dynasty. I salute you. While my coins are certainly not in the same league as yours, I've assembled the small bronze set of Flavians as part of my 12 Caesars set. Vespasian: AD 69-79 AE As; 28mm/10.1g OBV; IMP CAESAR VESP AVG COS V CENS, laureate head right/ REV; S-C, Spes advancing left, holding flower & raising hem of robe. Rome mint. (Cohen 452, RIC I 360a) Titus; AD 79-81 Bronze As, 26mm/13.1g (Rome Mint) Obverse: T CAES IMP AVG TTRP COS RR CENS ; laureate head right, Reverse: PAX AVG SC in field; Pax standing left, near a lighted altar, holding with the right hand a patera and with the left one a caduceus and an olive branch, (Cohen 129) Domitian; AD 81-96 AE Dupondius, 28mm/9.2 g Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIAN COS II; Domitian laureate & draped head left Rev: S-C, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising hem of robe (RIC II 699)
very nice indeed, i couldn't pick a favorite either. be sure you click on the pic to enlarge for maximum coin eye candy.
If I had to pick my favorite of his lot, I'd still have to go with the Vespasian Sestertius with the Judea Capta reverse. Just a great portrait and stunning detail on a big old hefty coin.
A fantastic family set! Are you considering acquiring the coinage of their wives as well, or just the emperors themselves? I have to wonder how many similar sets were completed in antiquity. The disposable income to collect aurei would be reserved for the wealthy but I'd have to assume that because humans are not terribly different today than they were then, there would still be a number of collectors. Looking at how successful the State Quarters program was, I'd wager that people even collected by unique major reverse types in antiquity as we do today.
I know we have record of Augustus showing interest in old coins. I always considered the Trajan restitution series evidence that someone cared about old coins. What other later evidence is there for there being any interest in collecting?
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Augustus*.html#75 It is not much but above is the Suetonius passage.
I have one in silver It's been said here, I believe, that mints probably had collections. Is there written evidence of this, or just based on the re-use older designs?
I do not have the reference at hand but believe there was a hoard found where every coin was different. That does not mean that it was a type set and none of the coins were slabbed but it suggests the owner selected the coins for variety rather than spendability. Does anyone have this reference at hand? I believe there is a passage in Pliny suggesting some people paid extra to get fourrees but it is not clear whether they did this in a desire to own them or as a public service to prevent them from possibly harming the public confidence in the money. I will point out that, unlike today, money was not the primary driving force behind men of repute. Having a crowd of people applauding as you walked by was extremely important. Imaging a Roman celebrity paying the paparazzi to trail them so everyone would know a 'somebody' was coming. Some interest here: http://books.google.com/books?id=84...6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=pliny plated coins&f=false
Then one might take the other meaning of 'mint set' and try for a set of coins from various mints. Byzantium, Asia, Ephesis (who has others?). Also, rather than combining dupondius and as into one, a collector might feel the need to have a dupondius identified by its yellow metal alone and another showing the radiate crown. In this period, consistency was a relatively minor concept.
