Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction X 27 September 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Vitellius AV Aureus. Rome, August - December AD 69. A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right / XV VIR SACR FAC, tripod lebes with dolphin above and raven standing right below. BMC 38; BN 75; C. 110; RIC 108; Biaggi 288; Calicó 585. 7.26g, 19mm, 6h.
Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Lustrous, beautifully struck and possessing a superb portrait. Easily among the finest surviving aurei of Vitellius.
Emperor for only eight months, Vitellius was the third to take the purple during the Year of the Four Emperors in AD 69. Consul in 48 and Proconsul of Africa in 60/61, Vitellius commanded the army of Germania Inferior in 68, where he made himself extremely popular with the officers and soldiery through lavish extravagance and lax discipline. It was because of two of his legion commanders on the Rhine that he was acclaimed emperor by the legions in Germania, and they were soon joined by the armies of Britannia, Gaul and Raetia. With Otho's suicide, Vitellius gained the throne without the need for excessive bloodshed. His short lived reign was characterised by excessive feasting, gambling and indolence. Suetonius records some of the greater outrages which led to his being deserted in favour of Vespasian: 'Acting more and more in open violation of all laws, both divine and human, he assumed the office of Pontifex Maximus, upon the day of the defeat at the Allia; ordered the magistrates to be elected for ten years of office; and made himself consul for life.'
The reverse of this coin makes reference to Vitellius's membership of one of the four priestly colleges, the Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis (the other three being the Pontifices, Augures, and the Epulones), and so also his new self-appointed position as Pontifex Maximus. The raven refers to the college of Augures who interpreted the will of the gods through the study of the flight of birds. The tripod lebes can be linked with the college of Epulones, which arranged the religious feasts and festivals. The dolphin holds several symbolic meanings including that of messenger, protector and guide, and can be associated directly with various gods including Neptune, but when viewed as a symbol for protection and guidance, is associated with the college of Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis. Members of this college were responsible for keeping the Sybilline Books in safety and secrecy. At the command of the Senate, they consulted the Books in order to discover not exact predictions of definite future events in the form of prophecy, but the religious observances necessary to avert extraordinary calamities and to expiate ominous prodigies (comets and earthquakes, showers of stones, plague, and suchlike).
Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Lustrous, beautifully struck and possessing a superb portrait. Easily among the finest surviving aurei of Vitellius.
Emperor for only eight months, Vitellius was the third to take the purple during the Year of the Four Emperors in AD 69. Consul in 48 and Proconsul of Africa in 60/61, Vitellius commanded the army of Germania Inferior in 68, where he made himself extremely popular with the officers and soldiery through lavish extravagance and lax discipline. It was because of two of his legion commanders on the Rhine that he was acclaimed emperor by the legions in Germania, and they were soon joined by the armies of Britannia, Gaul and Raetia. With Otho's suicide, Vitellius gained the throne without the need for excessive bloodshed. His short lived reign was characterised by excessive feasting, gambling and indolence. Suetonius records some of the greater outrages which led to his being deserted in favour of Vespasian: 'Acting more and more in open violation of all laws, both divine and human, he assumed the office of Pontifex Maximus, upon the day of the defeat at the Allia; ordered the magistrates to be elected for ten years of office; and made himself consul for life.'
The reverse of this coin makes reference to Vitellius's membership of one of the four priestly colleges, the Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis (the other three being the Pontifices, Augures, and the Epulones), and so also his new self-appointed position as Pontifex Maximus. The raven refers to the college of Augures who interpreted the will of the gods through the study of the flight of birds. The tripod lebes can be linked with the college of Epulones, which arranged the religious feasts and festivals. The dolphin holds several symbolic meanings including that of messenger, protector and guide, and can be associated directly with various gods including Neptune, but when viewed as a symbol for protection and guidance, is associated with the college of Quindecimviri Sacris Faciundis. Members of this college were responsible for keeping the Sybilline Books in safety and secrecy. At the command of the Senate, they consulted the Books in order to discover not exact predictions of definite future events in the form of prophecy, but the religious observances necessary to avert extraordinary calamities and to expiate ominous prodigies (comets and earthquakes, showers of stones, plague, and suchlike).