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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;JayAg47, post: 25338197, member: 112342&quot;]Finally added an aureus. My pride and joy! </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve been on the look for an aureus for the last two years, but all the ones with in my budget were really subpar, and if I&#039;m paying in four figures for a coin, it better be good. </p><p><br /></p><p>My criteria were: Any emperor/empress up to the Severan era, the coin should weigh more than 7 g, it should not be drastically off-centered, the wear must be uniform with no distracting scratches, and while I can&#039;t afford to have a choice in the reverse, I was lucky to have found mine with one that I actually like. </p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was issued under Vespasian for his son Titus as Caesar in the year 75 AD, in his fourth consulship. Regarding the reverse, it evokes the imagery found on coins from the Republican and Augustan periods. Suetonius states that the Flavians, newly rose to the purple, faced a credibility challenge due to their lack of &quot;auctoritas&quot;. I believe that they sought to assert themselves as the upholders of Republican values (whatever it was by that time) by minting coins featuring similar motifs, and including restoration issues portraying the Julio-Claudians, thereby affirming their noble lineage (despite coming from a humble background).</p><p><br /></p><p>And the coin, </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1620496[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESPASIAN. Head of Titus, laureate, right.</p><p>Rev: COS IIII. Bull butting right, lashing his tail, left.</p><p>AD 75, 7.09 g, 20 mm.</p><p>RIC II.1 780 (Vespasian), Biaggi 361 (same rev die), Calicó 731. </p><p>Ex H.D. Rauch E-Auction 43, Lot 423. 3-7 Apr 2024.</p><p>Ex Numismatika Pešek (Ma-shops, Apr 2024).</p><p><br /></p><p>A video of the coin under sunlight, </p><p><a href="https://jmp.sh/IqFQzpOE" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://jmp.sh/IqFQzpOE" rel="nofollow">https://jmp.sh/IqFQzpOE</a></p><p><br /></p><p>So I did some sleuthing regarding the provenance, as the seller did not disclose any in their Ma-shops listing. A quick search on Acsearch revealed it was just sold by the house H.D. Rauch, but nothing beyond that. While a provenance is good to have, it a was not really a requirement as it would really drive up the prices depending on who owned it! </p><p><br /></p><p>But the more interesting aspect was that I found a handful of reverse die matches to my coin, notably the slanted bar over the IIII. Although, I could never find an obverse die match, not only for this type, but for any of the Titus as Caesar issues on Acsearch! </p><p><br /></p><p>Example 1 is a coin from the Boscoreale Hoard sold by H.D. Rauch Auction 102, Lot 55. 7-10 Nov 2016.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1620506[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Example 2 from the Bertolami Fine Art E-Auction 92, Lot 1179. 2-6 Oct 2020</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1620508[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Example 3 from Roma Numismatics Auction XXIII, Lot 889. 24-25 Mar 2022</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1620510[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This coin nicely pairs up with my Augustus denarius with similar butting bull motif. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1620507[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Please share your dream coin or any Roman gold![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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