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Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Vespasian

A work made of gold.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of gold.

Date:

75-79, issued by Vespasian

Artist:

Roman; minted in Rome

About this artwork

Obverse: Head of Vespasian right, laureate
Reverse: Fortuna, standing left on low garlanded altar, holding rudder in right hand and cornucopia in left

In A.D. 68 the chaotic reign of the Roman emperor Nero came to an end with his forced suicide, but what followed was an equally chaotic struggle to succeed him. The support of the army was critical: the year A.D. 69 saw one general after another claim the throne only to be killed by one of his rivals. Finally, the Roman army in Egypt joined the army in Syria to back General Vespasian. Knowing that Egypt was the empire’s breadbasket, Vespasian’s first effort as emperor was to pacify and control this important province. The armor he wears on this coin emphasizes his role as a warrior king.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Vespasian

Place

Rome (Minted in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

75 CE–79 CE

Medium

Gold

Inscriptions

Obverse: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG "Emperor Caesar Vespasian Augustus" Reverse: FORTVNA AVGVST "Fortuna Augusta"

Dimensions

Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

Reference Number

1922.4867

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5621/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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