Celebration of Peace after the Jewish War

CNG 106, Lot: 724. Estimate $7500. Sold for $5000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Vespasian. AD 69-79. AV Aureus (18mm, 7.18 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 76. IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS ΛVG, laureate head right / COS VII, cow walking right. RIC II 840; Calicó 622a; BMCRE 176; Biaggi 314. Good VF, underlying luster, light scuff on obverse.

Ex Continental Collection.

The reverse is thought to represent the bronze heifer by Myron, the 5th century BC Athenian sculptor. Vespasian placed the monumental work in his Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace), which was constructed following the close of the Jewish War. The temple complex doubled as a sort of public museum, where many of the spoils from the sack of Jerusalem were displayed alongside prominent works of art.