Sestertius - Vespasian IVDEA CAPTA S C, Judaea

Issued to celebrate the Roman suppression of the Jewish revolt, this is one of the most explicitly propagandistic coin types of the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian needed the Jewish War — politically, it was the foundation of his legitimacy. He had been a general of middling political status before Nero sent him east in 67 AD; the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD transformed him into a conqueror. The IVDAEA CAPTA series was struck across multiple denominations and mints almost immediately after Titus took the city.

RIC II.1 #168 is the sestertius attribution under the revised Flavian numbering. The orichalcum fabric on well-preserved examples retains a distinctly brassy surface quite different from later debased bronze issues.