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AR16 - Vespasian LIBERI IMP AVG VESPAS
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 69-79 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 16 mm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Vespasian facing right, rendered in the veristic portrait tradition characteristic of Flavian imperial coinage. The effigy displays the emperor's distinctive physiognomy with a broad, fleshy face. The surrounding legend reads IMP CAES VESPAS AVG in Latin capitals, distributed around the periphery of the flan. The style and fabric are consistent with the eastern mint at Ephesus, exhibiting somewhat irregular die engraving typical of provincial Roman silver issues. |
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| Reverse description | Two standing figures identified as Titus and Domitian, the sons and heirs of Vespasian, depicted veiled and togate, facing front with heads turned to the left. Each figure holds a patera in the right hand, symbolising their priestly and dynastic roles. The composition emphasises the dynastic succession of the Flavian house. The encircling legend LIBERI IMP AVG VESPAS — meaning 'the children of the Emperor Augustus Vespasian' — frames the design around the entire periphery of the coin. |
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| Additional information |
RIC II 1388 places this issue among the provincial-style denarii struck for Vespasian's sons, produced as the Flavian dynasty worked aggressively to normalize dynastic succession — a concept Rome's imperial system had never fully institutionalized. The LIBERI IMP AVG reverse type was a deliberate political broadcast, linking Titus and Domitian to Vespasian's legitimacy at a moment when the memory of 69 AD's four-emperor chaos was still raw. RPC II 290 situates the piece in eastern mint production, almost certainly Ephesus or Antioch, serving military payroll needs in the Greek-speaking provinces.