Sometimes it's nothing more than a portrait that attracts you to a piece. And that is indeed the case with my latest acquisition! Vespasian Æ Sestertius, 25.68g Rome mint, 71 AD RIC 238 (C). BMC 552. Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: MARS VICTOR; S C in field; Mars, armoured, adv. l., with Victory and trophy Ex CNG E443, 1 May 2019, lot 530. A sestertius struck in Vespasian's great bronze issue of 71. The reverse features the first Mars type coined for the new emperor, copied from one previously struck for Vitellius. Mars is seen here in full military dress instead of the heroic nude he is normally depicted as on the contemporary denarii. This MARS VICTOR type pays proper respect to the god of war for granting Flavian success in the recently concluded Jewish War (an open display of celebration for defeating Vitellius would be taboo on the coinage). The portraits from this aes issue can be quite extraordinary. C.H.V. Sutherland in his book Roman Coins writes: 'Vespasian's aes, however, and not merely the sestertii, developed a full magnificence of portraiture ... The beauty of this work lay in it's realism, strong in authority and yet delicate in execution ...' (p. 189) Perhaps, a portrait such as this is what Sutherland had in mind when he wrote that passage. The minor porosity does not detract too much from the superb veristic portrait and beautiful dark brown patina. And just for comparison, a denarius with a 'heroically nude' Mars on the reverse. Vespasian AR Denarius, 3.39g Rome Mint, January - June 70 AD RIC 23 (C). BMC 11. RSC 87. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: COS ITER TR POT; Mars, helmeted, naked except for cloak round waist, advancing r., holding spear in r., holding spear in r. hand, and aquila over l. shoulder in l. Acquired from Tom Cederlind, July 2005. Please show your superb portraits! Also, any Mars types, whether clothed or nude, you may have. I am curious to see how he was depicted throughout the coinage.
The facial features on Vespasian's portrait are particularly well rendered; both the obverse and reverse are well centered as well. I think my Vitellius sestertius is the one you cite with the Mars reverse: VITELLIUS 69 A.D. AE Sestertius (29.74 g.) Rome Apr. - Dec. 69 A.D. RIC 115 A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP AVG P M TR P Laureate and draped bust r. Rev. MARS VICTOR S – C Mars, helmeted and in military dress, striding l., holding Victory in r. hand, parazonium at side and trophy over l. shoulder. The combination of a weak strike and circulation wear has conspired to almost completely eliminate any vestige of Victory, but the pose and dress are very similar to your Vespasian.
My sestertius is the normal reverse but has a broad flan and left facing head which drove me to buy it 26 Oct 1988. What I do not recall is why I noted that exact date since back then most of my records only gave the year.
Thank you for posting your Vitellius Mars sestertius, it is indeed the one I had in mind. Superb example!
Your example illustrates why I was having trouble with the write-up. My Mars is in military attire, yours is a heroic nude. Why are they different? What attributes does one have the other doesn't? There had to be a distinction, otherwise why have two separate types? I would like to know. Unfortunately, I was unable to reason out the differences between the two from the sources I consulted.
Were it not for the word Mars on the coin, I'd label that one as a Virtus type. How the people who made these thought about the matter is a guess at best.
In my opinion, bronzes of Vespasian are second only to Nero. They are impressive and well rendered. His portraiture morphs from a strong , heroic force to a congenial old grandpa. He remains one of my very favorite emperors for a number of reasons , including his personality. he had a great sense of humor and we learn from Suetonius that he was very slow to anger. Also, how can you beat giving the world the Colosseum? David said that sometimes a portrait just attracts you. That was exactly the case of this Fides dupondius. Here are several different styles...
Nice portrait, and an attractive coin in general @David Atherton ! This is my best Flavian portrait... Titus, AR Denarius, A.D. 76 O:T CAESAR IMP VESPASIANVS; Laureate head right; R:COS V; Eagle on cippus, head left. 15x18 mm, 3.5 g RIC II Rome 872
