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| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 125 | Auction date: 23 June 2021 |
| Lot number: 515 | |
| Lot description: Antiochia. Aureus 70, AV 7.58 g. IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG Laureate head r. Rev. PONT MAX – TRIB POT Pax seated r. on throne, holding olive branch and vertical sceptre. C –. BMC p. 109 †. RIC 1539 (these dies). CBN –. RPC 1914 (these dies). Calico 666 (these dies). Exceedingly rare, only the third specimen known and one of two in private hands. Minor traces of double-striking on obverse, otherwise about extremely fine Ex NAC sale 64, 2012, 1139. This lovely aureus of Vespasian is extremely rare, being just one of only three known. It is from the same dies as the Paris specimen illustrated in the hardcopy version of RPC, but it is the coin used to illustrate the type in the online version of RPC. The reverse features the goddess Pax seated to the right, holding an olive branch in her right hand and a scepter in her left, and ultimately derives from the PONTIF MAXIM coinage of Augustus (RIC 220) and, much more commonly, that of Tiberius (RIC 29). However, it has its closest parallels to coins of Galba, which sport the same type and employ the same reverse legend, PONT MAX TRIB POT. Although undated, the coin was struck around AD 70, probably at Antioch (although K. Butcher in The Coinage of Roman Syria, p. 96, states that this coin and its related issues "need not be Syrian"). The portrait of Vespasian here shows a heavyset man, with a strong jaw and a heavy chin, which is very similar to his portrait found on his group 4 Syrian tetradrachms. Additionally, the scalloped neck truncation on this aureus is stylistically identical to that on the tetradrachm issues RPC 1954-5. The use of Pax as the reverse type falls in line with Vespasian's overall policy of advertising on his coinage a return to peace and prosperity, an ending to the preceding turbulent period of Rome's civil wars. Other coins from this period likewise reflect a strong and just society – images of the goddesses Aequitas, Concordia, Justitia and Roma, and of the god Virtus appear frequently. Pax's ultimate origin in the coinage of Augustus and Tiberius is highly suggestive of Rome's greatest period to date, and thus draws continuity with it. Estimate: 12500 CHF |  |
