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RIC 0019 Vespasian (2)
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AR Denarius, 3.45g
Rome mint, January - June 70 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: COS ITER FORT RED; Fortuna, draped, standing l.,setting r. hand on prow and holding cornucopiae in l. hand
RIC 19 (C). BMC 7. RSC 84. BNC 7.
Ex eBay, March 2017.
Early in Vespasian's reign the Rome mint had a hard time getting his portrait right because he spent the balance of his first year as emperor in Egypt. There is a wide variation in portrait types and styles until the mint was able to procure a suitable portrait bust. Some, such as the one on this common Fortuna type, are unmodified Vitellius portraits. Certainly this denarius was one of the first coined for Vespasian at the mint.
A strikingly unusual portrait struck on a large flan.
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