Vespasian, Aureus, 69-70
Uncertain Western mint - Extremely rare - Gold
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Head of Vespasian, laureate, right.
Concordia seated left, holding patera and cornucopiae.
An aureus of the highest rarity! Only two specimens have been seen in sales to private collectors, and a third specimen is kept at the Bibliothèque nationale de France! It is also the same reverse die as RIC 1349, currently in the British Museum. Identified as an early issue in the reign of Vespasian, this aureus with the Concordia type, a common type in imperial coinage at the end of the 1st century AD, actually appeared at the very end of the Julio-Claudian period under Nero, before being adopted by the following emperors. It is therefore one of the earliest examples, for the aurei coinages, of the Concordia type, already adopted by its predecessors in the "year of the 4 emperors", Galba and Vitellius. The portrait is particularly eye-catching, in a style that could be described as "pre-Flavian", and it does not perfectly reflect Vespasian's usual facial traits, which can be found in the issues of the Rome mint. And for good reason: the mint where this coin was struck is unknown to us, and we can only date it to the very beginning of Vespasian's reign. It would therefore seem that this coin, and the other two known examples, were part of extremely limited issues, at least for gold. Perhaps struck under less official conditions, or in a secondary mint, like the issues from the Tarraco mint of which we can cite RIC I² Vespasian 1297, whose portrait is very different from the Flavian portraits. We have here an absolute rarity in the coinages of Vespasian. It is characteristic of the beginning of his reign, when, despite his intention to establish himself as the restorer of peace, in opposition to the chaos created by Otto, Galba and Vitellius, he did not forget to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors by striking coins of the same types in order to ensure continuity, not to create a rupture in the minds of those who were to receive the coins, first and foremost the Roman legions in his service, but also those who joined him later.
IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG
CONCORDIA AVG
7.41 gr
Gold
Although nowadays gold enjoys a reputation as the king of precious metals, that was not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was widely considered to be superior. However, over the course of time, it has established itself as the prince of money, even though it frequently vies with silver for the top spot as the standard.
Nevertheless, there are other metals which appear to be even more precious than this duo, take for example rhodium and platinum. That is certain. Yet, if the ore is not as available, how can money be produced in sufficient quantities? It is therefore a matter of striking a subtle balance between rarity and availability.
But it gets better: gold is not only virtually unreactive, whatever the storage conditions (and trouser pockets are hardly the most precious of storage cases), but also malleable (coins and engravers appreciate that).
It thus represents the ideal mix for striking coins without delay – and we were not going to let it slip away!
The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which derives from its Latin name aurum. Its origins are probably extraterrestrial, effectively stardust released following a violent collision between two neutron stars. Not merely precious, but equally poetic…
The first gold coins were minted by the kings of Lydia, probably between the 8th and 6th century BC. Whereas nowadays the only gold coins minted are investment coins (bullion coins) or part of limited-edition series aimed at collectors, that was not always the case. And gold circulated extensively from hand to hand and from era to era, from the ancient gold deposits of the River Pactolus to the early years of the 20th century.
As a precious metal, in the same way as silver, gold is used for minting coins with intrinsic value, which is to say the value of which is constituted by the metal from which they are made. Even so, nowadays, the value to the collector frequently far exceeds that of the metal itself...
It should be noted that gold, which is naturally very malleable, is frequently supplemented with small amounts of other metals to render it harder.
The millesimal fineness (or alloy) of a coin indicates the exact proportion (in parts per thousand) of gold included in the composition. We thus speak, for example, of 999‰ gold or 999 parts of gold per 1 part of other metals. This measure is important for investment coins such as bullion. In France, it was expressed in carats until 1995.
An “AU(50-53)” quality
As in numismatics, it is important that the state of conservation of an item be carefully evaluated before it is offered to a discerning collector with a keen eye.
This initially obscure acronym comprising two words describing the state of conservation is explained clearly here:
About Uncirculated(50-53)
This means – more prosaically – that the coin has circulated well from hand to hand and pocket to pocket but the impact on its wear remains limited: the coins displays sharp detailing and little sign of being circulated. The number (50-53) indicates that at least half of the original luster remains. Closer examination with the naked eye reveals minor scratches or nicks.
You might be wondering why there are different ranges of numbers behind the same abbreviation. Well, we’ll explain:
The numbers are subdivisions within a category, showing that the state of conversation is the same but coins may be at the higher or lower end of the scale. In the case of AU, the range (55-58) indicates that the luster is better preserved in than a similar coin described as (50-53).
