I just received this Vitellius today, simply described as an "interesting overstrike." I believe this coin was struck at least four times but I only have three identified. In case someone else would like to try to figure it out, I'll hold off commenting on what I believe to be the case.
i love it. Is there an eagle (or dove?) head profile in the lower right corner of the obverse? Or feathers of some sort (maybe owl?) showing through on the obverse?
Oh, my. That's quite fascinating. I have nothing intelligent to add, but there's obviously something goin' on under there.
A Nero denarius would seem like a likely undertype with a Galba or Otho followed by Vitellius? That seems like a stretch though.
Interesting error coin to say the least! I love how pieces like this shed light on mint practices. It's like numismatic CSI.
I think I see, on the lower cheek of the obverse, "LI" and border dots, presumably from the same obverse die; and then higher up on the cheek the ribbon from his laurel wreath (same strike). In the middle of the reverse, just under the basin of the tripod, I see "XVVI" from the reverse die... looks like someone has traced the X a bit into the metal after the fact? I can't see a third overstrike, but I'm sure it's there! Tipsy mintworker?
'Why?' is never an easy question to answer with certainty. I love overstrikes but the best ones are those that exist in a quantity that establishes the overstriking was not a random accident but was done for a reason we can identify. One example is a series of antoniniani late in the reign of Trajan Decius and family overstruck on denarii. I have one and have seen enough others that I believe someone at the mint realized that the overstriking would double the value of the older coins. The same thing happens with double sestertii of Postumus overstruck on 2nd century sestertii. Most known coins of the usurper Regalianus are overstruck suggesting he wanted his own coins in a hurry but lacked the workshop to prepare flans instantly. The same thing might allow you to get rid of a quantity of coins that might be dangerous to be found in your possession. This could include coins of Brutus or Pescennius Niger but melting them down and casting new flans would be just as good. Wouldn't you love to find a common Antony legionary overstruck on an EID MAR? The British Museum does own a Septimius Severus overstruck on Pescennius. We can always make guesses of why something happened but proving it was not just someone fooling around at the mint in a totally random manner might be difficult. There is one other thing we need to keep in mind. There are fake rarities known to have been struck on genuine, common denarii. I have no reason to suspect the Vitellius is not genuine but if you can prove the undertype was a Domitian or Trajan it would be a very bad sign. When we study, we must keep an open mind to all possibilities and a few impossibilities. I hope someone recognizes the undertype. It is a very interesting coin.
Thanks for all the opinions and insights on this one. Here is what I believe happened. White = Laural wreath Red = Lips and chin Green = VVI Blue = ???
Don't you think the blue is the LI from VITELLIVS? It's in exactly the right position if we're right about the wreath ribbons... which would make the bottom red area border dots, not lips & chin.
I think you are 100% correct @Severus Alexander, thanks for your help! I had read your post earlier but I had already drawn a wrong conclusion. I thought the dots were to close to be the border but it fits perfectly. I'm going to examine the X of the XV VIR under a microscope. The border of dots above the X seem to be there as well but looks really weird!
I look forward to hearing what you make of the weird dots through the microscope! Very intriguing coin, thanks for posting it.
