Unpublished Judaea Capta Hybrid

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 1426. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Vespasian. AD 69-79. Æ As (11.14 g, 7h). Judaea Capta issue. Rome mint. Struck AD 72. IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, laureate head right / VICTORIA AVGVSTI, S C in exergue, Victory advancing right, holding palm and crowning signum with wreath. Cf. BMCRE p. 152, *, for this reverse type with COS IIII CENS obverse. Good VF, green patina. Unpublished hybrid with Titus Caesar reverse (RIC II 626).

The obverse type on the present coin, which is dated to Vespasian’s third consulate, was discontinued at the end of AD 71. This particular reverse type, however, with Victory crowning a signum, was introduced into the coinage in AD 72, where it appears on silver issues of Vespasian and Titus Caesar, but only on the bronze of Titus. Its first appearance on the bronze of Vespasian is with his COS IIII CENS issue of AD 73, so it must be that this reverse was from the COS II issue of Titus in AD 72.