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RIC 1312 (?) Vespasian
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AR Denarius, 2.98g
Tarraco (?) mint, 70 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: COS ITER TR POT; Pax stg. l., with branch and caduceus
RIC 1312 (R3). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -.
Ex Harry N. Sneh Collection.
A mystery coin if ever there was one. The portrait style suggests a provincial mint. Harry Sneh thinks it could be Tarraco. Ian Carradice believes it is provincial also, but acknowledges Rome had a widely variable portrait style early on and without a die link it remains uncertain where this coin was minted. I too think it is a bit unusual for Rome and so have tentatively assigned it to Tarraco. The obverse style is very much like that on the RIC 1308 plate coin from Tarraco. The Rome example of the type is RIC 29 for comparison.
Admittedly not the prettiest coin but certainly interesting for a Flavian collector!
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