RIC 1340 Vespasian

AR Denarius, 3.15g
Uncertain Spanish mint, 69-70 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, l.
Rev: VICTORIA IMP VESPASIANI; Victory stg. l. on globe, with wreath and palm
RIC 1340 (R). BMC 362. RSC 630. BNC 30.
Ex Private Collection; acquired from Incitatus Coins, December 2012.

This early undated denarius of Vespasian is fairly rare and is minted in an eye appealing style. The mint is uncertain, but the reverse type of Victory and Globe was struck under Vitellius at Tarraco and the prominence of left facing busts of Galba and Vitellius from that mint suggests a Spanish location despite the different styles between the two series. Future die links will most likely clear the matter up. My hunch is that it is indeed Tarraco (as assigned in the BMCRE) and the style differences can be explained by different engravers working at the mint and/or the elapsed time between the issues. The Paris specimen (BNC 30) is attributed to Rome.

The coin is quite a beauty. The style is almost baroquely garish in its representation of Vespasian, luscious locks and all.