Denarius - Vitellius CONSENSVS EXERCITVVM, Mars

Vitellius issued this coin during his march on Rome in 69 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors — before he had even secured the city. The CONSENSVS EXERCITVVM reverse was a direct appeal to legitimacy through military unity, a message aimed as much at wavering legions as at Rome itself. His German Rhine armies had proclaimed him emperor in January; by the time this denarius circulated, Otho was already dead and Vespasian's forces were mobilizing in the east.

Vitellius was dead by December. His entire reign lasted eight months.