My latest acquisition may look just like any other worn Vespasian Pax denarius. It is anything but that. Vespasian AR Denarius, 2.89g Rome mint, 76 AD RIC 852 (C), BMC 184A, RSC 373 Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: PON MAX TR P COS VII; Pax, bare to the waist, seated l., holding branch extended in r. hand, l. hand on lap Acquired from Wessex Coins (eBay), February 2017. This seated Pax type is normally seen with a COS VI date, struck in conjunction with the opening of Vespasian's Temple of Peace in 75 (probably Vespasian's most common denarius type). Here is a fairly rare COS VII seated Pax from 76. The COS VII Pax could not have been struck for any length of time and likely dates to the first few weeks of 76 owing to its rarity. Furthermore, the reverse die appears to be a recut COS VI with an additional 'I', likely placing the piece soon after Vespasian became COS VII on 1 January 76. Perhaps this type was struck as a stop-gap until new reverse designs were produced and approved for the new year. Same reverse die as the RIC 853 plate coin. Although rated as 'common' in RIC this is a very difficult coin to find in trade. Feel free to post any coins you think RIC incorrectly records the frequency of.
Great find. Thank you for going into so much detail with your attribution and description of the coins history. I learn so much from your posts.
Have you been able to find a die match to a COS VI dated coin? Is there only one reverse die known for COS VII? Cool coin!
Finding a die match of the unaltered COS VI would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, given it was struck in such vast quantities. I have another COS VII seated Pax with an obverse bare head left facing portrait from a different reverse die, it appears to be altered too.
Nice! Here's a real common Pax seated reverse type: Rome mint, AD 70 2.73 gm; 17.7 mm Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head, r. Rev: COS ITER TR POT, Pax seated l., holding branch and caduceus. Refs: RIC 10D; Sear 2285; BMCRE 26.
