I actually bid on one of those, hoping I could get it for a few bucks. Unfortunately, some poor unknowing souls took the price into the realm of authentic coinage. Sigh - I wish you could contact bidders like in the early Wild Wild West days of eBay.
Yes what I meant was Galba, Otho, Vitellius didn't look much like the Rome portraits and even the Syrian portraits on there tets were more realistic in there characture than the Alexandrian tets, though I noticed a slight improvement from Vespasian on towards your Aelius tet. And yes after that they begun to stylize there portraits.
Interesting, I see what you mean. Here's a tet of Otho that proves your point. Would you recognize this bust as Otho if you had only seen Imperial issues? I wouldn't...
No you wouldn't know, and they overdid the size of Galba's nose, I think Rome was changing emperors so fast they did not have chance to capture a likeness, and with Vespasian he was already at Alexandria when the whole 69AD thing was happening.
Here is a good one of Galba, with his over emphasized nose. Struck late 68AD, 24mm, 23.8mm, Eleftheria standing holding flowers, and sceptre in left.
Thanks zumbly, I got it cheap as it has red oxide adhesion but was worse, nothing like a bit of emery paper.
Wow, that looks familiar! @John Anthony found me a COOL one! And I have this cool Aelius too... RI Aelius Caesar 138 CE AE As 26mm Rome mint Fortuna-Spes cornucopia and rudder
Aelius (Caesar) Coin: Bronze As L AELIVS CAESAR - Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right TR POT COS II, PANNO-NIA S-C - Pannonia standing right, head left, holding vexillum in right hand and pulling swath of drapery across legs with left hand Mint: Rome (137 AD) Wt./Size/Axis: 11.50g / 24mm / - References: RIC II 1071 Cohen 25