Seen this coin a couple of times on Cointalk,(Bing) didn't understood the meaning of the reverse. Not the best example but at $40 I could'nt resist to buy it. added to my 12 Caesar denarii set: the meaning of the reverse in a nutshell: Please show your tripod or other Vitellius denarii , thanks.
Mooi muntje, Andres! This is my only Vittelius. It was delivered to me at my former home exactly on my wedding day 10 years ago... AD 69. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.10 g, 6h). Rome mint. Laureate head right / Vesta seated right, holding scepter and patera. RIC I 107; RSC 72. Near VF, darkly toned, scratches under toning.
Very good example at 40$ Mind you, mine was a bit more expensive. Vitellius, Denarius Rome mint, July - December 20, AD69 A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, Laureate head of Vitellius right XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod-lebes with dolphin lying right on top and raven standing right below 3.43 gr, 16-18 mm Ref : RCV # 2201var, Cohen cf # 110 et suiv, RIC I # 86 (this example illustrated in Wildwinds) Q
Not too bad for the price. Vitellius (69 A.D.) AR Denarius O: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, Laureate head right. R: S P Q R / OB / C S in three lines within wreath. Rome Mint, 69 A.D. 3g 18.5mm RIC I 83; RSC 86 Vitellius (69 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: ΩΛΟΥ ΟΥΙΤ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡΜ ΑΥΤ, laureate head right. R: Nike advancing left, holding wreath with her extended right hand and palm frond with her left; LA (date) to left. 26mm 12.1g RPC 5372; Köln 260-2; Dattari 340; K&G 19.1. Emmett 196.1
Nice Tripod @Andres2 ! Nice explanation also... TRIPOD: Mysia Kyzikos AE12 1.2g 400-3rd C BCE Kore Soteira - Tripod crown Tunny SNG France 430 BMC 141-30 VITELLIUS: RI Vitellius 69 CE AR Denarius Pont Max Vesta Seated RIC 107 FREAK SHOW TRIPOD: RProv Elagabalus CE 218-222 AE 18mm 4.3g Thrace Philippolis Serpent entwined tripod Pythia Festival Moushmov 5423
Intriguing coin, Andres. Thanks for posting the notes on the reverse. My latest example of a denarius for Vitellius is very similar to your's, and the coin posted by Cucumbor, but different in a special way: The engraving of the raven here is very amateurish, but the obverse portrait is exceptional with a rather sympathetic take on the emperor. Same inscriptions as your's on both sides, but in this one he is bare-headed. His earliest denarii were bare-headed, but this one is not listed in RIC with this reverse. I have seen a similar obverse with the CONCORDIA P.R. reverse type. Unlisted combination or unofficial hybrid? Stay tuned.
My copy of RIC has the following note under "(v) Hybrids": "The BM now has a denarius with obverse 2A [bare-headed right with legend A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P] and reverse XV VIR SACR FAC; this may be, as Mr. Carson has suggested, not a hybrid but part of a small intermediate issue, i.e., bridging Groups (i) and (ii) above." This note would appear to be referring to your coin, I believe.
Thank you for rounding out the picture on this one, IOM. I do not have RIC I revised. However, here is a link to the British Museum collection of coins of Vitellius. The coin with Museum number 1850,0809.3 is very similar to my coin but with a rather different obverse inscription A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP. This is a group 1 coin, with the following museum note: "Vitellius before his elevation had been a member of the college of quindecimviri sacris faciundis to which the reverse alludes. In this first issue at Rome, Vitellius is not styled Augustus." Another coin 1913,1115.40 , has the same reverse, and obverse inscription, as mine, but the bust of Vitellius is laureate. However, coin number 1977,0911.2 is identical to my coin in every respect. The museum coin is attributed to a York hoard findspot, and it has the museum note: "Similar to RIC1 86, p.272 but bare head (see note p.273)." This is accompanied by two bibliographic references: Bibliography Robertson 2000, 57 (Robertson, Anne S; Buttrey, T V (ed.); Hobbs, Richard (ed.), An Inventory of Romano-British Coin Hoards, 20, London, Royal Numismatic Society, 2000) RIC1 86, p.272 (var.) The obverse of the BM coin appears to be a die match for my coin. The reverse may be as well. Probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is.
