It’s not often when surfing the web I come across a coin in trade and simply say “wow”. This is one of those coins. Beyond doubt one of the biggest surprise additions of the year.
Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 24.67g
Rome mint, 72-73 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS IIII; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: S C in exergue; Vespasian riding r., spearing fallen foe
RIC 386 (R). BMC 622. BNC 610. Hendin 1518.
Acquired from Aegean, September 2022.
This extremely rare reverse type featuring a rider spearing a fallen enemy combatant most likely alludes to the Jewish War (per Hendin), although H. Mattingly in BMCRE II conjectures it refers to the contemporary campaigns in Dacia or Germany. It was sparingly struck for Vespasian in just one issue and slightly more frequently for Titus Caesar through several issues. Only one die pair is known for the Vespasian variant – a testament to its great rarity! I could locate only one heavily tooled example in trade on asearch. OCRE and RIC cites two examples, one in the BM and the other in Paris. IMHO, the RIC frequency rating of ‘rare’ seems a bit understated. Did the RIC authors know of any other specimens?
NB: Because of its extreme rarity, this type for Vespasian could possibly be a mule with a reverse intended exclusively for Titus Caesar.
Although heavily worn, this is one of those coins I will treasure and consider myself lucky for having obtained it.
Flavian Fanatic 