Finally bought the last coin I needed for my 12 Caesar set in bronze. a Vitellius with Concordia on the reverse, Concordia was a favourite of the emperor, hoping for stability and harmony, he even added her to his surnames, to no avail. Came in from a French seller just under $300, by far the most expensive coin in the set. The set is in a blue box , most of the coins are Dupondii , a couple of asses and 1 Sestertius (Galba) Now I'm going to work at my 12 Caesar set of silver Denarii , long way to go with 6 more needed. Please show your bronze Vitellius or even perhaps a 12 caesar set in bronze , thanks reverse side: better pics incl 6 more emperors:
That is a very attractive as of Vitellius, Andres. It has a distinctive portrait of the emperor. You can't miss him. Congratulations also on completing your 12- Caesar set in bronze. Quite an accomplishment. Here my two better bronzes of Vitellius: Vitellius Ae As, Tarraco. 69 AD - Concensvs Exercitvvm Vitellius, Sestertius, Rome 69 AD - Pax Avgvsti. (beat up and a bit rough, but still with a distinctive portrait of the emperor.)
WOW @Andres2 what a wonderful SET! And a great presentation! Well done and congrats completing the set. I really like it! I have more of a "Poor-Man's" "Dog's Breakfast" type of 12 Ceasar / Seutonis 12 Set. It includes Silver and Bronze As/Dupondius/Quinarius/Denarius/Tet as a mix. I also "bonused in" a Vindex as he started the Civil War to stop the Julio-Claudian Dynasty...
A few years ago I discovered how much fun small Imperial bronzes can be to collect. Dupondii can be especially attractive, since many times they're large enough for more-detailed portraits than are seen on asses of the same emperor, and many times they can be relatively affordable since they tend to be overlooked by collectors. In particular, the OP Vitellius dupondius is an excellent coin: the obverse is well centered with a solid, recognizable portrait; the reverse is only slightly off-center and has the complete CONCORDIA visible; the overall coin is evenly struck with no weak spots, and no tooling. I have one of this type in my own collection and it is, in fact, my favorite small bronze, partially due to its relief on the obverse: Here's my 12 Caesars bronze collection, absent Julius Caesar and Otho who didn't mint Imperial bronzes
Thanks for all the kind words , friends. amazing As from Tarraco Eduard, I didn't know they made such nice coins in Spain. I can understand why you added a Vindex coin to your set, Bing I would like to add Agrippa,friend, succesfull general and heir of Augustus. You own probably the best 12 (10) Caesar set around, Ides but why not add a Julius Caesar Divos struck under Augustus? many around and struck by Italian mints. an Otho from Antioch would be nice too , great portraits on the better ones. made a pic of the relief of my Vitellius , I'll guess they all were struck that way.
Great set, and a great Vitellius! Congrats! I also LOVE your Divus Augustus and the Vespasian. I only have half of them in bronze: I just figured out how to get my database to show the reverses in a group:
Here is another sestertius of Vitelllius. This one is a much scarcer type than PAX, but in very well-worn condition. Vitellius. AD 69. Æ Sestertius. Rome mint. Laureate and draped bust right / Concordia seated left, holding branch and scepter. RIC I 133.
Great set. What's the provincial Julius Caesar? And what brand is the presentation box? My Twelve Caesars collection is a few years away, but I will get there....
@gavin, unknown brand, the boxes were sold by the Royal Dutch mint and original filled with silver dutch coins part of a lot of 20 different empty cases bought on a local site overhere in the Netherlands. Here's the coin with description:
[QUOTE="Andres2, post: 3054105, member: 79017 Here's the coin with description: View attachment 764858 [/QUOTE] Awesome. Love that big bronze!
[QUOTE="Andres2, post: 3054105, member: 79017 Here's the coin with description: View attachment 764858 [/QUOTE] Awesome. Love that big bronze!
I did just that - my Julius Caesar Divos badly needs improvement, but my Otho from Antioch probably is as good as they get (graded "EF with excellent portrait" by Sear). Here are my 12 Caesars with Friends and Family (Livia, Agrippa, Drusus Junior, Antonia, Nero Claudius Drusus, Agrippina Senior, Germanicus, Julia Titi) in their new tray:
Nice combination set Julius, my Otho is the weakest link in my set, bound for an upgrade in the future. Your Otho looks sharp in the picture, although its rather small , a semis ?
It is 24,74 mm and 9,28 grams. Sear identified it as a bronze As or 4 chalkoi, RPC 4319 and pl. 164 (6 specimens cited); McAlee (The Coins of Roman Antioch) 323; BMCG p. 177, 213.
