Denarius - Vitellius VICTORIA AVGVSTI, Victory

Vitellius held power for only eight months in 69 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors — before Vespasian's forces defeated him at the second Battle of Cremona. He was dragged through Rome and executed in December of that year. Coins struck in his name were produced at both Rome and a Spanish or Gallic mint, with RIC I #36 attributed to Rome. The speed of his fall means the total volume of his coinage is modest, and pieces that avoided deliberate defacement after his death are less routine than their survival rate might suggest.