Vespasian, 69-79. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.08 g, 6 h), uncertain Western (?) mint, 69-71 (?). [IMP•CAES]AR•VESPASIANVS[•AVG] Laureate head of Vespasian to right. Rev. IMP Vespasian, holding scepter in his left hand, and the Caesars Titus und Domitian standing in slow quadriga right. BMC -. Bromberg -. CBN -. Cohen -. Hendin -. RIC 1371 (this coin cited). RPC II online -. Samel -. Shoshana -. Apparently unique and of great historical importance. Struck on a slightly short flan, otherwise, good very fine.



That even the thoroughly studied field of Roman imperial coinage can still hold surprises is vividly demonstrated by this unique denarius, struck at an uncertain imperial mint. The reverse shows Vespasian in a quadriga, but unlike the later types issued at Rome, he is accompanied by two much smaller figures who are most plausibly identified as Titus and Domitian. Their markedly reduced scale gives them the appearance of young princes, creating an unusual dynastic group centered on the emperor.

Taken literally, the scene is historically problematic. At the triumph over Judaea in 71 CE, Titus was already an experienced commander in his early thirties and rode in his own quadriga, while Domitian, then about twenty, accompanied the procession on horseback. The reverse therefore cannot be regarded as a faithful representation of the triumph itself, but rather as a compressed dynastic image in which Vespasian and his two sons are united in a single victorious group. Whether the engraver was unfamiliar with the actual ages and roles of the princes, or deliberately subordinated them to Vespasian by rendering them on a child-like scale, remains impossible to determine.

The chronology raises an equally intriguing question. RIC places the coin broadly in 69-71 CE, whereas the triumphal quadriga does not appear on the regular precious-metal coinage of Rome until 72-73 CE (see lots 376 and 384 below). If the traditional dating is correct, the present denarius may represent an exceptionally early and independent response to the triumph of 71 CE, anticipating the quadriga types subsequently adopted at Rome. Alternatively, the issue may have been struck somewhat later than presently assumed, after the triumphal quadriga had already entered the official Flavian repertoire. Either possibility underlines the remarkable character of the coin: an otherwise unknown mint reworked the imagery of the Judaean victory into a unique dynastic composition without close parallel in the regular Flavian series.