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Aureus - Vespasian VESTA
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 73 |
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| Reference(s) | RIC II.1#524, OCRE#ric.2_1(2).ves.524 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A detailed frontal view of the circular Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum, depicted with six columns supporting an elaborately decorated domed roof, the dome rendered with radiating coffers and a decorative finial at the apex. Within the open intercolumniation, a small standing figure of Vesta is visible at the centre, flanked by statues or attendant figures at the outer columns on either side. The temple is raised on a stepped podium. The reverse legend VESTA is inscribed in the upper field, distributed to either side of the dome, within a beaded border. |
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| Additional information |
Vespasian struck heavily on the Vesta type throughout his reign, using the goddess's imagery as deliberate ideological messaging — the restoration of stability and the sacred Roman hearth after the catastrophic civil wars of 69 AD, during which four emperors had held power in a single year. By 73, Vespasian had also assumed the censorship alongside Titus, an office not held since 22 BC, giving him extraordinary power to reconstitute the Senate and recalibrate Roman public religion.
RIC II.1 #524 is among the more precisely documented aurei of his reign thanks to the OCRE die-linkage work.