My latest coin shows it’s beneficial to do your own provenance research… you’ll never know what you may find!
Vespasian
Æ Sestertius, 24.63g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: PAX AVGVSTI; S C in field; Pax std. l., with branch and sceptre
RIC 186 (R2, this coin). BMC -. BNC 521.
Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 10. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Schulman 254, 11-12 November 1971, lot 3376. Ex Dutch Royal Cabinet, The Hague.
An extremely rare sestertius variety featuring Pax seated on the reverse. Normally on Vespasian’s bronze coins she is seen standing or leaning on a column. The provenance presented quite a puzzle. Clay writes ‘same dies’ as the RIC plate coin from The Hague collection, but clearly it is the same piece! The Hague collection was incorporated into the Geldmuseum of Utretch, which in turn was closed in 2013. Most of the Geldmuseum coins were sent to the Dutch National Bank where they reside today. Clay must have purchased the coin in 1971 via Schulman auction 254 which listed this coin (lot 3376) from the Dutch Royal Cabinet. RIC erroneously assumed the piece was still part of the Royal Cabinet collection when it was transferred to the Geldmuseum! The auction provenance was either forgotten or lost.
Besides being a plate coin, this example comes with a high relief portrait in fine style!
Here is the Schulman auction photo from 1971. Look familiar?
I believe the RIC authors were referencing a photo file or a plaster cast from the Royal Coin Cabinet. That would explain how it was sold in 1971 in a private auction, yet was cited by RIC in the Hague collection in 2007.
The RIC plate image of the piece.
What I cannot explain is how Mr. Clay missed this was the same coin from the Hague collection and not just ‘same dies’! Presumably, he was the buyer in the 1971 Schulman auction and had the piece for over 50 years. The puzzle continues …
Flavian Fanatic 