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Sestertius - Vespasian LIBERTAS PVBLICA S C, Libertas
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 72-73 |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Emperor Vespasian facing right, depicted with his characteristic mature, broad features and draped paludamentum visible at the shoulder. The effigy is rendered in high relief in the bold, realistic portraiture style typical of Flavian-era coinage. The encircling Latin legend runs along the outer border of the obverse field, naming the emperor with his full titulature. The portrait exhibits the strong, individualistic physiognomy associated with Vespasian's official image as propagated across the empire. |
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| Obverse lettering | IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS IIII (Translation: Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Pater Patriae, Consul Quartum. Supreme commander (Imperator) Caesar Vespasian, emperor (Augustus), high priest, holder of tribunician power, father of the nation, consul for the fourth time.) |
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| Additional information |
Vespasian struck LIBERTAS PVBLICA types aggressively in the years immediately following the civil wars of 69 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors — deploying the rhetoric of restored liberty as a direct rebuttal to Neronian tyranny. It was a calculated message: Vespasian had not seized power so much as rescued the state from it. The RIC II.1 377 sestertius falls within the Rome mint's output for 72–73, a period when the Flavian administration was simultaneously consolidating finances strained by war and funding the construction of the Colosseum from Judaean spoils.