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RIC 1557 Vespasian
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AR Denarius, 3.11g
Antioch mint, 72-73 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; Victory stg. r., crowning standard and holding palm
RIC 1557 (R2). BMC 509, RSC 618. RPC 1929 (1 spec.). BNC -.
Ex Pegasi 140, 2 August 2011, lot 319.
This Vespasian denarius was attributed as a fairly common Rome mint Victory crowning standard, it actually is from Antioch and can be identified so by the different style. The lettering and the bust clearly are Antioch. The Rome example of the type is rated C2 (very common), while the Antioch type is rated R2 (very few examples known). The other two examples of this type I have seen are die pair matches with mine, which illustrates how rare this coin really is.
The whole series this coin is a part of consists of contemporary Rome mint types which were copied by Antioch.
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