During Vespasian's reign a mysterious issue of bronzes were struck in Rome that traditionally have been attributed to Syria. My latest coin belongs to this odd series. Vespasian Æ As, 4.91g Rome mint, 74 AD Obv: IMP•VESP•AVG•P•M•T•P; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: S • C in laurel wreath RIC 1566 (R). BMC 879. RPC 1986 (3 spec.). BNC -. Acquired from eBay, May 2022. In 74 AD the Rome mint produced an extraordinary issue of bronze coinage of dupondii, asses, semisses, and quadrantes with a somewhat Eastern theme. Previously, these coins had been attributed to either Commagene (BMCRE) or Syria (RPC, and doubtfully so in RIC), but more recent scholarship has shown they actually were struck in Rome. The circulation pattern confirms this - out of a total of 112 of the smaller denominations cited by RPC, all but 4 were found in Western Europe. Ted Buttrey confirms 'The Eastern finds appear to be simply the débris of Mediterranean circulation.' But why was this series produced in such a fashion? Buttrey proffers a plausible theory - '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.' So, in essence, a very personally important issue for Vespasian. A rare variant 'S C' as featuring a right facing portrait paired with a scarce obverse legend. Unusually, the asses of this series were struck in orichalcum not copper and are much smaller than traditional contemporary asses. Missing from the Paris collection. Feel free to post your numismatic mysteries! Thanks for looking!
David, Congrats on a very interesting score . Your coin is much too light & small to be an as, & is without doubt a semis. For comparison see the coin pictured below that I sold about 4 years ago. Roman Antioch, Vespasian, AD 69-79 (struck circa AD 74), AE As: 30 mm, 16.79 gm, 1 h. McAlee 364(b), this coin. V. Rare. Ex Al Kowsky Collection.
All the major catalogues (RIC, BMC, RPC, & BNC) attribute this type as an as. An even smaller denomination is considered a semis. Granted, the OP specimen is a bit under weight due to some porosity. The average weight of an as in this issue is @ 6.00g (RPC p. 284).
There is an analogous situation with the coins of Trajan. Some sources state this "brass as" was struck in Rome for use in Syria, some that it was struck in Antioch, and others that it was struck in Cyprus. RIC II (p. 290) comments: "The revival of the orichalcum as, which had been introduced by Nero and discontinued by his successors, is not easy to explain. Possibly these coins were designed for circulation in the East. Their issue is confined to the latter part of Trajan's reign." Trajan. A.D. 98-117. Roman orichalcum as, 8.49 g, 23.5 mm, 6 h. Struck in Rome for circulation in Syria (?); Struck in Antioch (?), AD 115/16. Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GERM, radiate and draped bust right; c/m: bucranium within incuse punch. Rev: DAC PARTHICO P M TR POT XX COS VI P P around laurel wreath enclosing large SC. Refs: RIC 647; BMCRE 1094; Cohen 123; RCV 3243; Woytek 937v; McAlee 509; Strack 479; BN 953-5. For c/m: Pangerl 63; Howgego 294.
Similar to the Vespasianic issue, find spots will likely tell the tale. Odd that they make no mention of the Flavian orichalcum asses!
Very interesting thread. I don't know about the Flavian issues, but the SC issues for Trajan apparently have been analyzed for metal content - they are "indistinguishable" from sestertii and dupondii struck in Rome. This per a CNG listing: This unusual issue struck at the end of 115 is typically attributed to an eastern mint, usually Antioch. The issue consisted of the as and semis, both with radiate busts, and both struck on orichalcum flans. Metallurgical tests have shown that the orichalcum used is indistinguishable from the orichalcum used for Roman sestertii and dupondii and quite different from the orichalcum used for some provincial issues. This fact, along with the style of the portraiture and legend, and the die axis of 6:00 versus the normal 12:00 die axis for the Antioch mint, suggests that this issue was minted at Rome and shipped to Syria. See the two articles by Metcalf in ANSMN 20 (1975) and 22 (1977), and Carradice and Cowell's article in NC (1987)." https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=115343 That lovely CNG example went for $1100.00. Here's my not-so-lovely example (but a lot cheaper!). Mine is so crusty it is impossible to tell what it is made out of, but I assume Rome Mint orichalcum: Trajan Orichalcum As (115 A.D.) Rome Mint (for Syria) MP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GERM, radiate, draped bust right / [DAC PA]RTHICO PM TR POT XX COS VI P P: S C in oak-wreath RIC 647; Cohen 122. (9.10 grams / 24 mm) eBay Mar. 2021
David did it again! That's a very interesting addition to your splendid Flavian collection. I think the last Vespasian I bought was about 10 years ago. Hmm, numismatic mysteries; Why does the eye look so ghastly on my Trajan Decius Double Sestertius? TRAJAN DECIUS AE double sestertius. Rome, 250 AD. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right, drapery on far shoulder. Reverse - FELICITAS SAECVLI, Felicitas standing left with long caduceus & cornucopiae, SC in fields. Cohen 40, RIC 115c, RCV 9395, valued at $900 in VF. Rare. 34.5mm, 21.3g. Reverse slightly double struck. Very nice portrait. " (snarky comment: Like a radio host would say snarkily, "Is it?") Oh well, one can't have everything. The example was budget enough (although it was about the same price as the lovely Sestertius which makes up my avatar) for me to buy it. Marsyas Mike; I couldn't help but notice the similarity to the Incitatus coins background. What makes up the background?
I'm not sure what "incitatus" refers to? The background on most of my photos is from an old library book bound in red buckram - nothing fancy for sure.
I believe he is referring to the seller "Incitatus Coins" on VCoins. They use a similar red background for their listing photos.
Ah! Okay. I am not that familiar with Incitatus Coins' usual procedures - I'm sure they know what they're doing when it come to photographing coins! Unlike me, because I just point and click, using an old book as a background. Usually red, but sometimes I'll change it up.
These aes seem to often go unrecognized as being made in Rome for eastern circulation. See for example https://www.biddr.com/auctions/savoca/browse?a=2523&l=2820021
Here's my recent acquisition. I didn't realize that this was an Orichalcum coin until I did a bit more research. Hierapolis, Phrygia. Pseudo-autonomous. 4.99g. 18.6mm Leu sold one and called it an Assarion. The picture shows this as if it was a black coated bronze. But the black patina is from the Orichalcum. There is a lot of detail in this coin and the fields are not as rough as this looks.
There have been many coins minted in Rome for circulation in Orient. Under Trajan, the debased silver "tridrachms" (actually low-standard tetradrachms) and the "camel drachms" were minted in Rome for circulation in the newly created province of Arabia. They had previously been attributed to Caesarea of Cappadocia, later to Bostra or to an hypothetical "Trajan's Arabian mint", but it seems there is a consensus now for Rome.
