Sestertius - Vitellius MARS VICTOR S C, Mars and Victory

Vitellius held power for less than nine months in 69 AD — the Year of the Four Emperors — and his Rome mints operated under genuine uncertainty about how long the regime would last. The MARS VICTOR type was almost certainly a propagandistic response to his army's victory at the First Battle of Bedriacum in April of that year, where Othonian forces collapsed and Vitellius's Rhine legions swept him to power. His reign ended in December when Vespasian's supporters dragged him through the streets before killing him.

Sestertii from his reign are scarce by the simple arithmetic of a truncated mint run, and RIC I 116 is among the commoner of his orichalcum issues — which still means precious little on the absolute scale.