Dupondius - Vespasian ROMA S C, Roma and Victory

Vespasian's later orichalcum issues of 77–78 AD fall within the final stretch of his reign, just before his death in June 79 AD, and were struck at Rome during a period of intensive building activity funded largely by the spoils of Judaea. The Flavian fiscal machine was running hard: revenue from the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD was still being funneled into infrastructure, including the Colosseum, which was under active construction at precisely this moment.

RIC II.1 1224 is among the later die pairings of the series — not a rare coin, but one whose production context carries more weight than its survival rate suggests.