Denarius - Vitellius XV VIR SACR FAC

Vitellius reigned for less than a year — April to December of 69 AD, the Year of the Four Emperors — before his forces were defeated by Vespasian's army and he was killed in the streets of Rome. His coinage was produced at pace, primarily at Rome and Lugdunum, as he scrambled to project legitimacy he never fully secured. The XVviri sacris faciundis, the priestly college responsible for consulting the Sibylline Books in times of crisis, was a deliberate choice of reverse type: a ruler with questionable authority advertising his piety and his grip on Rome's sacred institutions.