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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 3750430, member: 82616&quot;]I was quite thrilled to have won this coin in the last CNG eAuction. It surprisingly went much cheaper than I thought a &#039;Judaea Capta&#039; type should have in a CNG auction. Not that I&#039;m complaining!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1005740[/ATTACH]<b>Vespasian</b></p><p>Æ Sestertius, 19.38g</p><p>Rome mint, 71 AD</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.</p><p>Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S C in exergue; Victory stg. r., l. foot on helmet, inscribing OB / CIV / SERV on shield on palm tree; to r., Judaea std. r.</p><p>RIC 221 (C3). BMC 582. BNC 561.</p><p>Ex CNG eAuction 453, 2 October 2019, lot 522.</p><p><br /></p><p>The commonness of most Judaea Capta types underscores how important the Jewish War and subsequent defeat of the Jews was to the fledgling Flavian dynasty. This iconic sestertius from the second bronze issue of 71 was struck in fairly plentiful numbers. Colin Kraay records 21 different obverse dies used for this one type alone. The iconography on the reverse is quite explicit. Victory, nude from the waist up, is inscribing a shield attached to the trunk of a palm tree, the palm being a topographical symbol for the land of Judaea. The personification of Judaea herself sits in dejected mode to the right of the palm. The inscription on the shield, OB CIV SERV - &#039;for saving the citizens&#039;, credits the emperor for keeping the empire safe. The clear allegorical message of the reverse crediting Vespasian for defeating the Jews and saving the empire would have been quite apparent to most people handling this coin. The amount of propaganda squeezed from the rebellion of such a small region is indeed remarkable. Josephus&#039; declaration of the Jewish War as the &#039;greatest&#039; of all time would have been quite welcomed by the Flavian regime.</p><p><br /></p><p>The iconography of the coin&#039;s reverse can also be seen on a cuirassed statue of Vespasian found in the forum of Sabratha, testifying to the popularity of this visual &#039;Judaea Capta&#039; panegyric to the emperor.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1005743[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to post any coins you think relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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