Vespasian, 69-79. Aureus (Gold, 19 mm, 7.28 g, 6 h), Rome, 77-78. IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG Laureate head of Vespasian to left. Rev. COS VIII Vespasian standing front in military attire, head to left, holding spear in his right hand and parazonium in his left, being crowned with wreath by Victory, on the right, standing front, head to left, holding palm frond in her left hand. BMC 205. Bromberg -. Calicó 625a. CBN 183. Cohen 131. Hendin -. RIC 936. Samel -. Shoshana -. A few faint marks and tiny die breaks, otherwise, good very fine.



By 77-78 CE, Flavian victory imagery could also be expressed in a much more general form, without direct reference to Judaea or to a specific campaign. On the reverse of this aureus, Victory crowns Vespasian directly, without captives, provincial personifications or other identifying attributes. The type may thus be seen as one outcome of a development that began with the highly specific Judaea victory issues of 69-71 CE: military success had become an established element of Flavian imperial identity. Alongside the continuing explicit Judaea Capta coinage, such types presented victory in broader terms, as a permanent quality of the emperor and his dynasty.