Vespasian AR Denarius 70 CE

Vespasian AR denarius 70 CE

Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Laureate head right

Rev: COS ITER TR POT; Neptune standing left foot on prow, with Dolphin and trident

RIC 25 (R) BMC 14, RSC 90

Purchased from Monetarium on Ma-Shops January 13, 2020

I wanted this coin because i had never seen one until this popped up for sale. What attracted me to it was the reverse. You can see Neptune standing. He is standing on a prow. In one hand he holds a dolphin and in the other he has a trident.

There are only 3 denarius types for Vespasian with this reverse. This one is from the Rome mint. There is also one from the Lyon mint and one from a Spanish mint presumed to be Tarraco. All of these coins are at least rare. Mine is the least rare having a designation of R. The other 2 are both R2 (very few examples known). I feel very lucky to have gained this one for my collection. I know it is badly worn but I would rather have one than not.

I will be of course keeping an eye out for the Lyon and Spanish mint examples, but I might be waiting years for the opportunity to add either to my collection.