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RIC 0082 Vespasian
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Æ Sestertius, 24.75g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG P M T P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: LIBERTAS PVBLICA; S C in field; Libertas stg. l., with pileus and rod
RIC 82 (C2). BMC 801. BNC 503.
Acquired from Savoca Coins, August 2022.
Vespasian struck a massive bronze issue in 71 which easily dwarfs any other produced during his reign. The reverse themes are largely given over to ones an incoming dynasty would find useful, such as this Libertas type, copied from the coinage of Galba. Libertas here symbolises Vespasian's rescue of the Roman people from tyranny - a most fitting type in the wake of civil war. She is seen at Rome early in the reign on the bronze issues and a few rare denarii from an unknown western mint. This specimen sports a more youthful and thinner portrait of Vespasian, quite different from what would become standardised later on. Clearly the engravers were still grappling with the appearance of their new emperor who had only arrived in Rome the previous October.
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