Watch List notes:

Vitellius. Sestertius; Vitellius; 69 AD, Rome, Sestertius, 23.73g. BM-49, pl. 62.15 (same dies); Paris-103, pl. XXIV (same dies); C-53 (200 Fr.); RIC-134. Obv: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP AVG P M TR P Bust laureate, draped r., seen from side. Rx: L VITELL CEN - SOR. II around, S C in exergue, L. Vitellius, the emperor's deceased father, seated l., togate, on curule chair on platform, receiving something from or handing something to the first of three togate figures who stand r. on the ground before him; the second togate figure on the ground also raises his r. arm towards the seated censor, though that raised arm is mostly concealed behind the first standing figure; above the heads of the three standing figures, a man seated r. on an invisible platform, probably a scribe writing down the names of those who are approaching the censor. This sestertius of Vitellius commemorating his father's censorship under Claudius is very rare, apparently coming from only one reverse die. The specimens known to Colin Kraay in his unpublished Oxford dissertation of 1953 were all from the same die pair as ours, and the same is true of all the specimens we have been able to locate in CoinArchives Pro, the Berk photofile centering on auction catalogues of c. 1970-1990, and a large number of collection and auction catalogues in the Berk library. A plaster cast in BM is stated to show the same reverse type coupled with a variant obverse legend, reading GERMANICVS rather than GERMAN (RIC 114); we would expect this variant, if confirmed, to also come from the same reverse die. Similarly a sestertius in Berlin reported to have not CENSOR II but CENSOR III in the reverse legend (RIC 135) must surely just be a tooled CENSOR II from the same reverse die. Vitellius' father was the most distinguished member of the Senate during Claudius' reign, having served as consul three times, the last two times with the emperor as his colleague, and then becoming censor with Claudius in 47-48 AD. The title CENSOR II in the sestertius type is odd, perhaps referring to the fact that the censorship of Vitellius' father was carried out in two consecutive years, for L. Vitellius was certainly censor only once, and correctly has the title CENSOR only on the gold and silver coins struck by his son, not CENSOR II as in the sestertius type. See the discussion of this question by Eckhel, Doctrina VI, pp. 314-5, followed by Mattingly, BMC I, p. ccxxv.Roman portraits of Vitellius perfectly centered like this are quite scarce and desirable. This coin is even more desirable because of its reverse type commemorating Vitellius' father, which was apparently struck from only one reverse die. Wonderful green patina with some earthen toning. EF
($14500)