Featured New Sestertius of Vitellius - MARS

Before reading on you must excuse me for the low grade of the coin I am about to show you - I promise there is some eye candy at the end of this post as a compensation ).

Vitellius´ bronze coinage from the mint of Rome is much rarer than his earlier output from Tarraco and it was only at the capital that the Emperor struck the Sestertii which are rare and collectible today.

Genuine Sestertii of Vitellius are outnumbered by Denarii of his by the factor 20 to 1, so my specimen is of course a compromise but I am more that happy to fill this vacancy in my Sestertius collection. Of course genuine Sestertii of his are also vastly outnumbered by Paduans. My coin has been deemed genuine by two experts so far but only from pictures I must admit.

After his victory against Otho and a lengthy trip, Vitellius entered Rome on July 17, 69 and received the titles Augustus and Pontifex Maximus the following day. It was therefore only in late July of that year that the mint of the capital started striking for him, for all those coins bear AVG in his title.

The first emission of bronze coinage from Rome, labeled „group (i)“ by RIC, features the title GERMANICVS in full length. It was at this point that Vitellius introduced Mars on his coinage, maybe to celebrate his campaign against Otho or even to rally the support of the god of war against Vespasian.

Mars was restricted to Sestertii and appeared in two guises, one as MARS VICTOR, the giver of Victory, hastening to convey his good tidings to the Emperor. Two varieties of this type exist, one with trophy (RIC 115), the other with an Aquila standard (RIC 116) in the left hand of Mars.

The other type, S.C. MARS, as represented by my new arrival, is the first appearance of an interesting Mars type, according to BMCRE not infrequently identified as „Mars Pater“ – very probably taken from a well-known statue group of Mars and Rhea (Dodd in Num.Chr. 1911, p.227).

As with the MARS VICTOR reverse, two varieties of the walking Mars type are recorded: One with Mars carrying a Trophaeum in his left hand (RIC 120), and one with him carrying an Aquila (RIC 121, BMCRE 60, Cohen 89, Sear 2208 var.).

While practically all coins of the first variety (with trophy) look to be either tooled or cast, the second (Aquila) seems to be represented by at least half a dozen authentic specimens from three pairs of dies.

In September 69 the Germanicus title in the obverse legend was shortened to GERMAN, creating RIC´s group (ii) of Vitellius´ coinage of the Rome mint.



A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP AVG PM TR P - Laureate, draped bust of Vitellius right
S C - Mars, helmeted and naked but for cloak, advancing right, holding transverse spear in right hand and Aquila standard in left hand over left shoulder.
Sestertius, Rome July/August 69 aD
35,5 mm
RIC - , Cohen -, BMCRE -, Sear -



For this emission, all sources (BMCRE 58, CBN 108, C 79, Sear 2208, ERIC II 128) erroneously only record the version of Mars carrying a trophy over his left shoulder.

I have found that practically all coins showing Mars carrying a trophy including those in museums and those sold as genuine have die links with aftercasts, while most genuine specimens again show Mars shouldering an Aquila standard instead.

On the other hand, practically all of the numerous and popular Paduans and aftercasts of both legend varieties of this Mars type show Mars carrying the trophy, a fact that might have fooled the experts in believing that this was the rule in the first place. They may also have been influenced by the fact that the trophy became standard on later versions of this type as seen on Sestertii by Vespasian, Titus and others.

The device carried by Mars on my Sestertius has also been identified as an Aquila on top of a disc by one expert.

This beautiful specimen (which I would gladly trade against mine) from similar dies clearly shows the eagle:



And here is a rare original 16th century struck Paduan which shows the trophy:



I think an Aquila standard in Mars´ hand would better symbolize Mars as the bringer of war, leading the Vitellian troops to victory, that a trophy implying a victorious but saturated god on the way home.

Please share your thoughts and coins of Vitellius!

 

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Wow, @Julius Germanicus , that's a rare one in any grade! And, given the well-preserved examples of the ancient and the Paduan fantasy piece, I'm inclined to see Mars carrying an Aquila standard as well. Informative post!

 

Thanks for the post. Nice pick-up. Getting a sestertius of Vitellius in almost any grade is a significant achievement.

 

Really great

 

No Roman Eagle standards have survived which should come as no surprise because the Aquila during Vitellius´ time was made of gold and there was only one per legion, carried by the Aquilifer ("Eagle-bearer").

I like the symbolism of Mars himself carrying the standard. It was, for example, the Aquilifer of the 10th Legion who had the courage to be the first man to jump on land during Julius Caesar´s landing in Britain.

Here is the Aquila seen on the armor of Augustus´ famous Prima Porta marble statue - note the platform the Eagle is standing on:



A trophy should look more like a scarecrow on a pole, like this device carried by Mars on a later Sestertius of Antoninus Pius (not like that asymmetrical bundle on a stick seen on the Paduan above and most coins of Vitellius that supposedly show a trophy instead of an Aquila):

 

congrats really nice

 

What an interesting (and worrisome!) analysis. Also a great acquisition on your part, at a good price too.

Unfortunately my example of the type from Vespasian doesn't help illustrate the trophy vs. aquila thing very much.

 

A little update:

I was relieved when I received the news that my OP Sestertius (along with four others) caught one of the last flights from Hamburg and despite the Corona-caused shutdown arrived safely in sunny California (instead of getting lost somewhere in-between).

David Sear certified it as genuine and a previously unrecorded variant:

RIC 141 var. (trophy instead of aquila over Mars’ shoulder) = BMCRE 58 = RCTV I 2208; CBN 108 var. (trophy) = Cohen 79; CBN 104 var. (trophy and legend ends P M TR) = Cohen 79; Mazzini 80 var. (Mars holds aquila, but obv. legend ends P M TR) = Cayon (Los Sestercios del Imperio Romano) 29.

Now I also have the exact size (which was unlisted by the seller); 35,64 mm and 24.29 grams, and better pictures:



The only thing I am not sure about is how and when to have it sent back...

 

Quote: ""The only thing I am not sure about is how and when to have it send back"" ??????

My Smaller bronze Vitellius:

 

All your posts are great, @Julius Germanicus !


I only have one very worn / cleaned...

VITELLIUS


RI Vitellius 69 CE AR Denarius Pont Max Vesta Seated

 

I think he means to have it sent back to Europe from David Sear's office.

 

Vitellius sestertii are certainly difficult to find in almost any condition; yours has a readily identifiable obverse bust of Vitellius and is a good find for your collection.

I'm struck by how similar your reverse of Mars is to my Domitian sestertius, even though my Domitian is attributed to Thrace:



DOMITIAN 69 - 81 AD.
AE Sestertius (26.88 g.) Thrace 80-81 AD RIC 509 Titus
CAES DIVI AVG VESP F DOMITIANVS COS VII, laureate head right / S C across field, Mars walking right, holding spear in right hand, trophy over left shoulder

Your Rome Mars reverse seems a little more gracefully rendered than my Thrace reverse, although possibly the engraver intended the somewhat haughty look and body pose on my coin.

My own Vitellius sestertius, purchase through my dealer from a private collector who had acquired it from an NAC auction, has what I consider an excellent obverse portrait albeit a weakly struck reverse with a disappearing Victory being held by Mars:



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.

 

I am glad you finally were able to find a sestertius of Vitellius for your collection, Jens. I know how difficult these are, and your example, while lower grade, shows all major design elements.

I went through a phase in my collecting career, about 30 years ago, when I absolutely 'had to have' a sestertius of Vitellius. I was able to find these 3, all in low grade and/or severely corroded. Two examples of the 'Pax' type, which is also the most common, and a very low grade 'Concordia' type which is also one of the scarcest.

'Pax' type - this one is not so bad as they come with a clear bust of Vitellius.


Another 'Pax' type - don't know what happened to this one, but it only cost about $30.


'Concordia' Type, low grade but nice discernible bust (and quite rare)

 

Although no eagle standards have survived, there is this SPECTACULAR bronze eagle at the Getty Villa. It’s too large for a standard and possibly is a column topper.

Either way, may give a hint as to eagle standard appearance

 

My thoughts, exactly! @Julius Germanicus's coin, in particular, has a few things going for it: mostly readable obverse legends, very distinctive and identifiable bust, and a very clear image of Mars (although, I have to wonder, what happened to the S on the reverse?).

@Julius Germanicus, do you own the Antoninus Pius sestersius or the 16th century Paduan you've depicted?

 

That must be because they were both inspired by the same, well known (in antiquity, that is) statue. I still wonder if the original statue carried an Eagle standard like on my coin or a Trophy like the beautifully detailed one on your Domitian and the one Mars Victor is holding on your Vitellius.

What an awesome Vitellius! That quality is in a league beyond my resources. Sniff! But there are actually some obverse die links between your and my Mars type.

If you would have sold me your Concordia Vitellius last year, my search would have been over right there and then . I do like the brassy look of that one. Back then you probably got all three for less than what one would costs now.

Wow, that IS one spectacular bird! Is it a genuine roman piece and is it known where it was found?

Traces of it are there, if you look at the OP picture really, really, really hard. Here is a double die matching specimen (at least I think it is) where you can see it´s position.



I found a total of five published specimens of this unlisted type with Aquila ("RIC 141 var.") from three obverse and three reverse dies, while there seem to be another five genuine specimens with Trophy (RIC 141) plus at least twice as many fakes sold as genuine.

Sadly not. The Paduan which I think is the finest known specimen of it´s type (Lawrence 28, Klawans 4), sold for 4.500 USD including buyer´s fee in 2013 .
There are more than a hundred aftercasts and later copies from these dies around, which like all cast or struck fakes of the type show Mars with a trophy (instead of an eagle).

 

My only Vitellius coin is also a very worn denarius. I usually won't buy a coin in that condition just to fill a hole in my collection, but it was relatively inexpensive, the obverse portrait is still recognizable, you can still read the name Vitellius, and the reverse design is still visible. So I found the coin appealing enough to buy despite the wear.

Vitellius AR Denarius 69 AD, Obv. Laureate head right, A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TRP/ Rev. Jupiter seated left holding a scepter and Victory left, IVPPITER VICTOR. RIC I 75, RSC II 44, Sear RCV I 2197, BMCRE 8. 19.5 mm., 2.77 g.

 

Are coin now not coming from Europe - I am expecting a couple -

 

I don’t know the provenance of the bronze eagle.

Getty says it dates to 100-200 AD, but no mention of findspot.

This is pretty large. I saw it in person. It’s over 3 feet tall!

It’s way too heavy and large for a standard. If we can shrink this down by half, I think we have a pretty good idea of what a quality Roman standard looked like.

I may go to the Getty villa in the next couple months. I’ll take some in person photos if anybody is interested at all. I’ll double check the placard and see if there’s more information about findspot.