Very Rare Depiction of Pax
Rome Celebrates Judaean Victory

Triton XX, Lot: 688. Estimate $1500. Sold for $4000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Vespasian. AD 69-79. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 25.10 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 71. IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III, laureate head right / PAX AVG, Pax standing right, holding branch with left hand, and with torch in right, she sets fire to a pile of arms on ground; to left, statue of Minerva on tall column; to right, garlanded and lighted altar; S C in exergue. RIC II 240; BMCRE 553 var. (PAX AVGVSTI legend). VF, dark brown surfaces, minor roughness and porosity. Very rare.

This most unorthodox representation of Pax belongs to the large and important series of aes issued in AD 71, the year that witnessed the joint triumph of Vespasian and Titus through the streets of Rome in celebration of their victory in Judaea. At this time, the Roman Empire had experienced five straight years of warfare, which had devastated the economy and threatened the very foundations of the empire. The goddess of peace here holds a flaming torch with which she sets fire to a heap of arms, the spoils of Rome's defeated enemies. This symbolic act was carried out in fulfillment of a vow undertaken to Rome's principal deities of war, Mars and Minerva. A statue of the latter appears atop a column accompanying the scene of celebration. The hope was that with the cessation of hostilities, the Roman people could now enjoy a period of tranquility under Flavian rule.