A number of years ago at a local coin show I came upon a seller who among other offerings, had a box containing badly worn and corroded ancients. There really was not much in there, but going through the box I spotted the unmistakable portrait of Nero. I noticed the coin had a 'disturbance' or depressed area in front of the bust, and presumed that is why it had been placed in this 'junk' box. In spite of that the corrosion I bought the coin because, hey, it was a Nero, and with a very decent portrait to boot, and for that low price I was not about to leave it behind. So the coin landed in my own 'junk' box where it lay for a few weeks (or months, I don't remember)..... one day, while going thru this box of mine I picked up the coin again and noticed the disturbance had in fact some regular edges, and this aroused my interest. I took the coin to the next show and showed it to some buddies of mine who promptly identified the 'disturbance' as a Vespasian countermark. You can see from the picture that the coin, an As of Nero minted at Lugdunum is quite worn, the reverse is badly corroded and difficult to make out. The obverse, fortunately, bears a nice portrait of Nero, and the counterstamp, placed in front of the bust I have confirmed as being a c/m for Vespasian, with the emperors name 'VESPA' in ligature. The c/m is weak and parts of it are missing or weakly struck, but this is unmistakably a Vespasian countermark. So what does this VESPA countermark mean, and who put it there, and when? What I have learnt (the internet can be a fantastic source of information!) is that this particular countermark is thought to have been applied on coinage of Nero by troops loyal to Vespasian during the Civilis Uprising in the years 69 and 70. Gaius Julius Civilis was a romanized Batavian nobleman (The Batavi inhabited an area along the delta of the Rhine river) who held a commanding post in the Roman Army, leading a cohort of Batavians. You can read more about his deeds in the attached link, but the essence of the story is the following: in an attempt to gain independence for his native land, Civilis rose against the Roman Legions in Germania Inferior stationed at Castra Vetera, Bonna, and Mogontiacum. After initial successes against the legions who supported Vitellius in the lower Rhine area (an action which actually tolerated by Vespasian as he himself was also fighting Vitellius), Civilis then became more ambitious and decided to attack the bulk of the Roman army. This was an action which Vespasian could not tolerate. Vespasian was fresh from subduing the Uprising in Judaea, and could now turn his attention to defeating the uprising in Germania. This he did. Civilis was defeated, and the uprising came to an end. This Counterstamp, which is almost exclusively found on Nero asse of Lugdunum, was issued by the legions supporting Vespasian in this struggle. All known examples have been found in the lower Rhine area, and all show the c/m carefully placed in front of Nero's bust so as not to deface it. This is thought to be a reflection of the fact that there was fidelity for the deposed Nero within the ranks of Vespasian's legions. This little coin thus bears witness to the tremendous struggles which took place in the year of the 4-Emperors: the subduing of the Batavian republic and defeat of its leader Civilis, and the rise of Vespasian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_of_the_Batavi I have attached pictures of a better preserved example so you can appreciate the fully struck c/m.
Cool topic, thank you. I hadn't noticed them before, but now if I do I will know what I am looking at.
What a great find and a cool coin! It hardly seems appropriate for relegation to anyone's junk box. I wonder if @YOC could work some magic on it, should you wish to make the hard green coating go away. I bet the reverse could be improved. As-is though it is still a wonderful coin.
Thank you Eduard for the interesting history lesson. It makes me want to learn more and find an example of the coin. I would imagine they are quite scarce though.
I learned something new today, great history/coins I was born in the medieval town of Julich (Cleve-Berg) which is full of interesting history. My dad, found some Roman artifacts while digging a foundation for his garden shed....sadly no coins
Fantastic find! Last year after coming across a denarius of Vespasian with a Vespasian countermark (!) I fell in love with cm coins. Vespasian (countermarked) AR Denarius, 3.06g Ephesus Mint, 71 AD; Countermarked under Vespasian at Ephesus, circa 74-79 AD RIC 1431 (C), BMC 457, RSC 276, RPC 833 (14 spec.); c/m: GIC 839 Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPAS AVG COS III TR P P P; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; c/m: IMP·VES (ligate) Rev: PACI AVGVSTAE; Victory, draped, advancing r., holding wreath extended in r. hand and palm over l. shoulder. EPHE lower r. Acquired from Ancient Imports, November 2016. Researching them is quite a blast, as you well know!
Great story, proving once again that no matter how modest, and no matter what condition or price range, every coin tells a story.
Thank you all very much for your comments. David, that is an very interesting countermark on your vespasian denarius: ''Extremely rare. Only a few known eastern mint denarii, which have been mistakenly countermarked with his own monogram''. Congratulations! a very rare c/m, and much more so on a Ephesus denarius. Nemo, as you may know, the majority of VESPA c/m's known appear to have been applied to Nero asse of the Victoria type. Very few are known on other coinage of Nero. You have a very scarce, and appealing example there! Out of ignorance, I have paid little attention until now to counter-marked roman coinage. In a way a considered such examples 'damaged' or defaced, when in fact, they hold great fascination: counter marked coins are witnesses to defined events in history, and give us a direct link to those events. For a history enthusiast like myself that is fascinating. It was a great thrill finding this coin (in a junk box!). I shall keep my eyes (more) open from now on.
I think this coin would have responded when it was heavily encrusted, but an attempt has been made to clean it already and has removed the crust, but also pitted the surface. .... this makes it a no goer for the YOC RCP...
