'There is nothing like this series in the whole of Roman imperial coinage.'

Every once and a while a coin comes along that really blows your mind. The beauty and history of the following coin did it for me (Thanks @alde!).

Vespasian
Æ Dupondius, 14.46g
Rome mint, 74 AD
RIC 759 (C). BMC p. 219 note. RPC 1983 (6 spec.).
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, l.
Rev: PON•MAX•TR•POT•P•P•COS•V CENS; Winged caduceus between crossed cornuacopiae
Ex eBay (alde), 16 October 2018. Ex Klassische Münzen.

Traditionally, the issue this rather strange dupondius is from has been attributed to various different mints over the years. Ted Buttrey writing in the RIC II.1 Addenda commented extensively on it and proposed another theory for where and why it was produced. Because both the Addenda has yet to see the light of day and T. Buttrey's thoughts on the subject are important (and indeed likely correct), I have largely quoted it in full here with some minor editing.

'RIC 756-767 are irregular Dupondii, which should be taken together with Asses, semisses and quadrantes (RIC 1564-1581), forming together a single extraordinary issue in four denominations, distinct in typology and metal, as well as overall character from the regular coinage of the year. Although Eastern in aspect and reverse type, the circulation area of the dupondii is almost exclusively Gaul, Germany, Italy – i.e. the West, with scarcely any penetration of the East. Finds of the smaller denominations are rarely attested anywhere, East or West. The Eastern finds appear to be simply the débris of Mediterranean circulation.

Previously the series had been attributed to Commagene (BMCRE II, pp.217-222), then as a likelihood to Antioch (e.g. RPC II 1982-2005). The correct attribution to Rome is proved by mules of the dupondii with regular issues (Buttrey, “Vespasian’s Roman Orichalcum: An Unrecognized Celebratory Coinage” in David M. Jacobson and Nikos Kokkinos, Judaea and Rome in Coins, 65 CBE – 135 CE (2012). The series had nothing to do with Syria or with the East at all, yet it was purposefully designed to appear non-Roman: the suppression of the traditional reverse sub-inscription S C throughout; the suppression of the radiate crown of the Dupondius; the shifting of the consular dating from the obv. to the rev.; the striking of all four denominations in orichalcum; and most obviously the selection of rev. dies which reek of the East.

There is nothing like this series in the whole of Roman imperial coinage. It is a deliberate act of Orientalism, imposing the flavour of the East on a Western coinage. The key to its understanding is the reverse type of the dupondius, two crossed cornuacopiae with a winged caduceus between. It replicates the type of an obscure issue of the Galilean city of Sepphoris, an issue which had been, astonishingly, signed by Vespasian himself (ΕΠΙ ΟΥΕCΠΑCΙΑΝΟΥ, “on the authority of…”) when on duty there in the last days of Nero. The dupondius-sized bronze was accompanied by a half-unit with the type of a large, central S C – again signed by Vespasian, and now imitated on the As of the orichalcum series with the wreath of the As of Antioch (RPC I 4849-50).
The whole of this series memorializes not Vespasian the conquering general (IVDAEA CAPTA, VICTORIA AVGVSTI), but the man. His re-use of earlier coin types is well-known; here he re-uses his own, harking back to his career just prior to his final success in seizing the empire. And the series was struck in 74 A.D., co-terminous with the celebration of Vespasian’s first quinquennium.'

If I had never made the step to collect Flavian bronze a couple of months ago this fascinating beauty would be in someone else's collection today. I think I made the right choice!

Post your 'mind-blowing' coins or anything you feel is relevant!

 

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Nice coin My titus dupondius

 

Your enthusiasm regarding this coin is so evident that it might rub off to people and you might find yourself with competition

 

Handsome coin, Dave.

 

Lovely coins, @David Atherton and @ro1974 ! Thanks, Dave, for citing the discussion by Buttrey. The thing I find most fascinating is the allusion of this dupondius to the previous issue in Sepphoris. It suggests that Vespasian himself -- and not some hired designer at the mint -- was responsible for this coin's emission.

 

David Atherton, that's a handsome coin with a great patina. Buttrey's hypothesis & profound knowledge adds to the stylistic development of Roman coinage.

 

A really interesting coin David. I love the portrait and the historical significance.

Here is my 'mind-blowing' coin. The fact that according to some older research this coin was minted just 2 weeks before one of the most important events in ancient history-the assassination of Julius Caesar.

 

Great coin @David Atherton !

 

Great coin, David congrats,

This is my favourite Vespa dupondius, its part of my 12 Caesar set in bronze:

 

I believe the antiquarian nature of his coinage owes a lot to his own personal preferences.

 

Normally, I don't quote other people's work in full, but in this case a paraphrasing would not due. Buttrey's full argument deserves to be read by others.

 

David, I'm very pleased that the coin found its way into your collection. It deserves a place with a collector who truly appreciates it. I'll miss it less knowing where it is. Enjoy.

 

Neat! Yeah, that is a very provincial looking coin! Attractive patina as well!

 

Very cool find!

 

Thanks @alde! A fantastic piece that will be greatly appreciated during my stewardship of it.

 

This is a great point well stated. My level of interest in Vespasian would not place this coin as high on my list of favorites as it enjoys on David's. Similarly, I have a hundred coins that mean a great deal to me that David would probably find less than wonderful. When the right coin finds the right collector, all is right in the world of our hobby.

 

Congratulations on a nice example of an important type! Vespasian may indeed have been recalling his duty in Galilee by issuing the type, but Buttrey's characterization of it as "obscure" is incorrect. Double corncupiae (with and without caduceus) are featured on many Greek coins, and the motif was particularly popular in the Levant. One finds it on Seleucid, Judaean, Nabataean, and various autonomous city coins, throughout the 1st centuries BC and AD. In fact, because of its ubiquity in the East, the design is exactly what you would want to put on an imperial coin if you were engaging in a deliberate act of Orientalism.

From a later era, close to the end of provincial coinage...



SYRIA, Coele-Syria. Heliopolis.
Gallienus. AD 253-268
Æ21, 8.24 g, 6h
Obv.: IMP CAES P LIC GALLIENIVS avg; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: COL IVL AVG FEL; Caduceus between crossed cornucopias // HEL
Reference: Sawaya – (D110/R280 [unlisted die combination]).

 

I understood it to mean that Vespasian's signed issue of the type under Nero was obscure (RPC 4849). Which, in the grand scheme of things, it is.

Now I have another 'dream' coin added to the list!

 

Now you've got to keep your eyes open for one of those!