Every once in a while I come across a coin I just have to have. The strong portrait and beautiful dark chocolate patina of my latest acquisition wore down any feeble resistance I could have mustered. Never mind it's not rare. Never mind it's fairly worn. Vespasian Æ As, 10.37g Lyon mint, 72 AD RIC 1202 (C2). BMC 822. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIAN AVG COS IIII; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; globe at point of bust Rev: S C in field; Eagle stg. front on globe, wings outstretched, head r. Acquired from Felicitas Perpetua, October 2018. This iconic eagle on globe type copies a similar reverse struck under Tiberius for Divus Augustus. The connection to Augustus demonstrates Vespasian's worthiness as his successor. The type is fairly rare at Rome and more commonly found from the mint at Lugdunum (Lyon). It is almost exclusively reserved for the as issues at both mints. The coin was struck early in Vespaisan's reign when Lugdunum supported the main mint at Rome with bronze coinage for the western provinces. Post your coins that you couldn't resist.
Nice coin. I'm a little concerned about the crack on the reverse. Is it the same crack that goes through the O in COS on the obverse?
Yes, it is. It appears to be a minor flan split due to striking. The coin is very solid and has a nice ring to it.
Wow, beautiful patina, I can see why you had to have it. It is a striking type (no pun intended). John
Oh, that's gorgeous! The portrait is very artistically rendered and that patina is lovely! That's a keeper, all right. Here are a few of my sestertii in the never mind it's not rare; never mind it's fairly worn category:
My concern is that in the photo it looks like the crack doesn't go all the way through, that it's just on the surface of both sides. That made me suspect that the coin might be a cast copy. But I don't see any evidence of casting bubbles, and the details, particularly where the edges of the letters meet the flan, seems crisp, not mushy. So a cast copy seems very unlikely. My guess is that the crack is just filled with gunk. The coin was probably cleaned with electrolysis some time back in the past, and some of whatever was originally covering the coin is still trapped in the crack. Anyway, it's a beauty coin with a gorgeous patina. Enjoy.
Your coin is a perfect example of what I collect myself. I care little about actual wear on a coin, but simply prefer one which has great eye appeal as yours does. As for posting my 'gotta haves' there are too many of them so here are just a few randomly:
Great coin and the patina is gorgeous. Here's mine. I bought it not so much for the coin but for the provenance. RIC 1237 Vespasian IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII PP Laureate head of Vespasian right SC Eagle standing facing on globe, head right, wings spread Lugdunum mint 77-78 AD 8.77g RIC 1237 (C3); Sear 2362 From the collection of Gordon Wyatt Goldfinch (1895-1918) of Elfindale Road, London. With hand written old ticket citing #209 collection number. Ex-Artancient Ltd. Private Goldfinch was a passionate collector of Imperial Roman coinage. His personal catalog of coins dates to August 1910 when he was just 15 years of age. Goldfinch volunteered for service in 1914 with the 2nd London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. He died in service on March 28th, 1918 at the age of 23.
Here's a recent "gotta have it" coin you might appreciate, David. This Antiochene Domitian was just calling my name. It's big and chunky, dark black patina with some thin swashes of green over top, and he still has his facial hair around the edges of his jawline and chin intact.
I think we can agree it is much more preferable to have a worn F or VF than a smoothed or tooled EF. Honest wear is welcomed in my collection.
Glad you went for it. Sometimes when I scroll down all the sixbid site coins I see one that catchs my fancy That AV Quarter Noble Law Collection 2013 was a good exmple. I even planned the auction by being home from work an hour early (so I cut the grass at my house) to periodically check auction progress on computer. Only bad thing, I got caught up in a silly bidding war and PAID a price for my folly.
My weakness came over me like a low sugar attack, a Roman Amulet (not a coin) but I will post it anyway.