Those two were among the first roman coins I ever bought, back in the late 80's. Somehow I developed a liking for his coins and his history, and used to look for his coins at every show I went to. After enough looking I was able to find these two at local shows. Both reasonably priced. The supply of Vitellius sestertii seems to have dried up in the last years - I have not seen a single one offered at coin shows anymore, only at auction. Anyway, here are my two. Nothing to write home about, but the bust is of course readily recognizable, and somehow endearing, in both. Vitellius Sestertius - Reverse Pax Augusti and Concordia. Eduard
I have a interest in him & in fact he was the next denarius I was really focusing on buying but I either miss out on a deal due to a time difference or the coin is way beyond expensive for a little better then slick grade wise. I decided I am gonna wait on him and Tiberius, both to me are common enough to find with a simple type of their name. Very nice coins, especially the second one despite its edge ding. I havent seen Sestertii of him either
I wouldn't mind a coin of Vitellius, I just never felt motivated to get one. I suppose its mostly the price though These are really neat coins, I like the worn one a bit more.
Mat, Randy, thank you for your comments. I guess one of the reasons I am interested in his coinage is his association with the Roman Legions of the Rhine who proclaimed him emperor before marching on Rome. His coinage is surprisingly abundant, considering he was in power scarcely a year.His denarii can be found fairly easily, specially the Vesta, Tripod-Dolphin and Concordia types. Apparently Vitellius was a loud mouth who could give a good speech, but who loved food more than anything....
Ok Mat, if you are taking the food rap, I will associate myself with the loud mouth part. Actually, I always wondered why Vitellius seemed as available as they are/were. I always thought a one year emperor would have been scarcer. I like your coins Eduard, especially the second. I never intentionally got one, but got a group one time with a denari of his.
