Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dupondius - Vespasian CERES AVGVST S C, Ceres
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 80-81 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Dupondius = 1/8 Denarius |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Standing figure of Ceres facing left in full-length view, rendered in the classical style with long robes falling to the ground. She holds a long torch or sceptre in her right hand, raised vertically, and ears of grain or a cornucopia in her left, attributes emblematic of her dominion over agriculture and abundance. The legend CERES AVGVST arcs around the upper field, associating the goddess with imperial veneration, while the senatorial mark S C (Senatus Consultum) appears in the lower field to either side of the figure, authorizing the bronze issue. The reverse type connects the reigning dynasty to divine beneficence and the prosperity of the Roman state. The die work is competent though the surfaces show heavy patination and wear. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | CERES AVGVST S C (Translation: Ceres Augusta. Senatus Consultum. Ceres, the venerable. Decree of the Senate.) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Struck under Titus, not Vespasian despite the obverse legend — these coins honoring the deified Vespasian were issued during his son's reign as a deliberate act of dynastic consolidation. The Flavians had no Julian blood and no centuries of legitimacy to lean on; posthumous coinage for the founder of the dynasty was political infrastructure as much as anything else. Ceres carried particular weight in this program, tied as she was to the grain supply and the Annona, which the Flavians had worked hard to stabilize after the chaos of 69 AD.