I have been trying to find coins of Vespasian with the Mars standing reverse. I think the reverse is very cool. This first one is a very common coin with a very interesting provenance. The coin was once owned by Fritz Reusing a professor of portrait painting. From wikipedia: "Fritz Reusing portrayed numerous famous contemporaries, including fellow artists, musicians, including Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky , actors and writers, to be mentioned here Joachim Ringelnatz and Hans Carossa , as well as great scientists such as Albert Einstein and Max Planck were painted by him, and industrialists and business greats like Gustav Krupp , August Thyssen, Carl Duisberg and Friedrich Carl Hermann Heye , [3] the first President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, let himself be painted by him. to GeSoLeiIn 1925 he created a painting of the board, on which the then leading architect for the overall urban design Wilhelm Kreis is shown. He also created representative portraits of rulers, including the Kaiser Wilhelm I. , Friedrich III. and Wilhelm II. During the First World War and the Second World War , numerous portraits of general and officers were made: 1915 Colonel General Alexander von Kluck in uniform sitting in a chair with a wound, 1916 the group portrait with Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and his Chief of Staff Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen , 1919Erich Ludendorff and around 1942 General Field Marshal von Reichenau , as well as the General of the Armored Troops Friedrich Paulus . [4]" Vespasian 77-78 AR Denarius (17.79mm 3,19 g.) Obv: Laureate head r; IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG Rev: Mars standing l with spear and trophy; COS - VIII RIC 937 Cohen 125 RSC 125 BMC 200 Ex-Paul Schürer (1890-1976); Ex-Fritz Reusing (1874-1956) Purchased from Manfred Olding Munzenhandlung June 4, 2019 This second coin is rarer than the first. What makes it rare is the addition of a corn ear beside Mars on the reverse. This one took several months to make it from Spain to me as COVID interfered with the shipping. I used to think this coin was quite rare. Well, I managed to buy 3 of them so they are not impossible to find in the market. You might sometimes see this coin mistaken for the first coin: RIC 937. Vespasian Denarius AR Denarius, (18.82mm 3.33g) Rome Mint, 77-78 AD RIC 939 (R). BMC 203. RSC 129. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: COS VIII; Mars, helmeted, naked except for cloak, fastened with belt round waist, standing l., holding spear slanting upwards l. in r. hand and trophy on l. shoulder in l. Corn-ear upright in ground r. Ex: Jesus Vico Online auction 7 Lot 81 January 23, 2020 This one is special because it was part of the "Morris" collection auctioned off by Heritage around this time last year. I find the portrait on this one to be quite pleasant. Vespasian (AD 69-79). AR denarius (19mm, 6h). NGC VG. Rome, AD 77-78. Obv: laureate head of Vespasian right; IMP CAESAR-VESPASIANVS AVG Rev: Mars standing facing, head left, transverse spear in right hand, trophy in left; grain ear growing behind. COS-VIII, RIC II.1 939. Rare with grain ear. Ancient Coin Selections from the Morris Collection, Part IV World Coins Special Monthly Online Auction 61160 Lot 97223 May 10, 2020. This one is the first Vespasian RIC 939 that I bought. It is also the one in the worst condition of the 3. At the time this coin seemed very elusive so I bought this one. I am still glad I own it because the depiction of Mars on the reverse is quite nice. Vespasian Denarius AR Denarius, (18.67mm 2.84g) Rome Mint, 77-78 AD RIC 939 (R). BMC 203. RSC 129. Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: COS VIII; Mars, helmeted, naked except for cloak, fastened with belt round waist, standing l., holding spear slanting upwards l. in r. hand and trophy on l. shoulder in l. Corn-ear upright in ground r. Purchased from Ebay July 31, 2019 This brings me to my most recent addition. This coin was owned by a member here on CT. It often happens with Flavian denarii that they are misattributed. The attribution given stated that this coin was the common RIC 938. It is instead the rare RIC 940. I love the portrait on this coin. It also has a very lovely grey toning. I am always on the lookout for coins from this series as I find them very interesting. Vespasian. AD 69-79. AR Denarius, 19mm, 3.3g, 6h; Rome mint. Struck AD 77-78. Obv.: VESPASIANVS AVG IMP CAESAR; Laureate head left. Rev.: COS VIII around, Mars standing left, holding spear and trophy. Reference: RIC II 940; RSC 126. Ex: Doug Smith Collection. Purchased from JAZ Numismatics. May, 2021.
Good eye to spot the misattributed Mars. I also have a few coins from the Reusing collection, all of them Flavians. Nice to be able to provide provenance more than 100 years. Here's one of my Reusing coins with Mars but for Domitian IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS POT P P Laureate head right with Aegis SC Mars advancing left with Victory and trophy Rome, 85 AD 13.67g RIC 387 (C) Holed in antiquity and plugged in the late 19th century? Ex-Manfred Olding 2019 n 184; Ex-Sammlung Heynen 1976;Ex-Paul Schürer (1890-1976); Ex-Fritz Reusing (1874-1956) Comes with old tag probably from Heynen or Schürer. Olding tag incorrectly attributed to RIC 420 (different ending to legend)
So what does the corn ear symbol mean? Does it imply it was minted elsewhere than Rome? I know Vespasian also had a series of denarii minted in Ephesos...
I believe it is a reference to agrarian themes that were also used on other coins of Vespasian. In fact the agrarian theme was also extant on the denarii of Titus as well. While this could be referencing the agrarian roots of the Flavian dynasty, it might also be just good politics. I expect many would appreciate that it was the current dynasty that ensured that the population was fed. People tend to get a bit grumpy if you don’t feed them. When the population gets grumpy, bad things seem to happen to emperors.
Mars's association with prosperity and peace is what is being emphasised by the corn ear (grain, not maize!). The theme goes back to Republican coinage.
