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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 3447391, member: 82616&quot;]I recently won this dupondius on eBay for way less than the price of a meal at a nice Italian restaurant. It helped I was the only bidder!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]915349[/ATTACH]<b>Vespasian</b></p><p>Æ Dupondius, 13.42g</p><p>Lyon mint, 77-78 AD</p><p>RIC 1211 (R). BMC 831.</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII P P; Head of Vespasian, radiate, r.; globe at point of bust</p><p>Rev: FIDES PVBLICA; S C in field; Fides stg. l., with patera and cornucopiae</p><p>Ex eBay, 23 March 2019.</p><p><br /></p><p>FIDES PVBLICA, the good faith of the state, was a common personification on Vespasian&#039;s coinage. The figure on the reverse is likely based on a cult statue of the goddess whose annual sacrifice occurred on 1 October. Important documents of state and treaties were store in her temple for safe keeping. The Fides type came into common imperial use during the Flavian era and was an important part of Vespasian&#039;s numismatic propaganda. This dupondius was struck at the Lyon mint in 77-78 in a fairly large issue that presumably addressed a shortage of bronze coinage in the Western provinces. Oddly enough, dupondii are more commonly encountered in this issue with a laureate bust instead of the usual radiate one as seen here.</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your Fides![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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