Vespasian, 69-79. Aureus (Gold, 20 mm, 7.37 g, 6 h), Rome, 72-73. IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII Laureate head of Vespasian to right. Rev. Palm tree with two bunches of dates; to left, Vespasian standing right in military attire, left foot set on helmet, holding spear in his right hand and parazonium in his left; to right, Judaea, draped and veiled, seated right on ground in attitude of mourning, resting her head on her left hand. BMC 78. Bromberg -. Calicó 587. CBN 64. Cohen 644. Hendin 6494. RIC 363. Samel 2311. Shoshana -. Very rare and undoubtedly the finest known example of this prestigious issue. A magnificent and lustrous piece, boldly struck from fresh dies and with exceptional detail – a masterpiece of Flavian coinage, and arguably the finest known Roman Judaea Capta gold coin. A few faint scratches on the reverse, otherwise, good extremely fine.



Struck at Rome in 72-73 CE, this aureus belongs to a later and more mature phase of the Judaea Capta coinage. Jerusalem had fallen in 70 CE and Vespasian and Titus had celebrated their joint triumph at Rome in the following year, so that the victory in Judaea was by now firmly established as one of the central themes of the new dynasty. The reverse takes up the emperor-and-Judaea composition already developed on the bronze coinage of 71 CE, but reduces it to its essential elements: Vespasian, the palm tree and the defeated province.

Vespasian stands in military dress, holding spear and parazonium and resting one foot on a captured helmet, while Judaea sits mourning on the ground on the opposite side of the palm. Although Titus had commanded the final siege of Jerusalem, it is Vespasian who appears as victor, reflecting the Roman principle that military success ultimately belonged to the emperor under whose auspices the campaign had been fought. Josephus’ account of the triumph offers an interesting parallel: after the spoils from the Jerusalem Temple and images of Victory had passed in procession, Vespasian himself came first, followed by Titus (Josephus B.J. 7.148-152).

Particularly striking is the complete absence of a reverse legend. Earlier issues had identified the defeated woman explicitly as IVDAEA or proclaimed IVDAEA CAPTA; here the imagery alone carries the message. This suggests how firmly established the visual language of the Judaean victory had become by 72-73 CE: the palm tree, the victorious emperor and the seated woman were sufficient to identify both the conquered province and the meaning of the scene. On the aureus, moreover, this familiar composition was transferred into the most prestigious regular denomination of the Roman currency, giving the image a prominence quite different from that of the large bronze issues from which it developed.

The exceptional preservation of the present coin is especially important for such an entirely pictorial reverse, preserving the small but significant details of Vespasian’s military equipment, the helmet beneath his foot, the palm and the figure of Judaea with unusual completeness. As the finest-preserved example known, it offers an unusually clear view of the design as it was originally conceived and stands as one of the key surviving documents of the mature Flavian Judaea Capta programme.