[eBay logo] Home Listings Buyers Sellers Search Help News/Chat Site Map Shop eBay while you're sleeping! Personal Shopper searches eBay for you! Sellers, free Gallery option week coming! Buyers, try the new way to shop--the Gallery. CNG - Vitellius, Imperial glutton. Denarius. Item #103289134 Coins & Stamps:Coins:Non-US:Ancient, Medieval [Image] Bidding is closed for this item. [Image] [Show description]Currently $203.50 First bid $1.00 Quantity 1 # of bids 14 (bid history) [Leave feedback] (with emails) (to seller) Time left Auction has Location PA (to bidder) ended. [envelope] (mail this auction to Started 05/12/99, 09:52:16 PDT a friend) [Gift Alert] (request a gift Ends 05/19/99, 09:52:16 PDT alert) [Image] Seller cngcoins (273) [star] [about me] (view comments in seller's Feedback Profile) (view seller's other auctions) (ask seller a question) [Image] High bid dphelps@riverside.quik.com (16) [star] [Image] Payment See item description for payment methods accepted Shipping See item description for shipping charges [Image] Relist Seller: Didn't sell your item the first time? item eBay will refund your relisting fee if it sells the second time around. Relist this item. Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Currency is dollar ($) unless otherwise noted. Description ***Please be sure to follow the hyperlinks below to CNG's new postage rates for all online sales*** [Image] Vitellius. 69 AD. AR Denarius (3.05 gm). Laureate head right / Tripod-lebes, dolphin above, raven below. RIC I 24; BMCRE 17; RESC 114. Nice VF, dig on Vitellius' cheek, scratches in reverse field. 712764. This denarius boasts a sharp and well-executed portrait of this short-reigning Imperial glutton, one of four Emperors during the disastrous Long Year of 68-69 AD. Aulus Vitellius was the son of Lucius Vitellius, a well-fed Senator who attained a reputation as a sycophant of the Emperor Claudius. Aulus inherited his father's appetites and then some--his youth was spent stuffing his face with every imaginable delicacy and running up exorbitant gambling debts. By the time the Emperor Galba appointed him Governor of Lower Germany, he'd exhausted his inheritance and was deeply in hock. The Legions of Germania Inferior, in a rebellious mood since the skinflint Galba had refused to pay them the customary donative, hailed Vitellius as Emperor. He accepted the purple, and received the support of influential moneylenders in Rome--the only chance they stood of getting their money back lay in placing the public treasury at Vitellius' disposal. The German Legions marched on Rome, defeating Galba's murderer and successor Otho at the First Battle of Cremona on April 15, 69 AD. Otho committed suicide a day later, and Rome had a new Emperor, the fourth in ten months. Vitellius treated his accession as an excuse to throw one long banquet, spending the equivalent of $2 billion on lavish entertainments over the next seven months. Even word that Vespasian, commander of three Legions in Judaea, had been proclaimed Emperor by his troops failed to interrupt the party. By acting decisively, Vitellius may have quelled the revolt; instead, the whole East declared for Vespasian, and the Danubian Legions staged a lightning invasion of Italy which caught the Vitellians completely off guard. Vitellius dithered as the enemy approached, at one point abdicating the throne in return for a guarantee of his and his family's safety. Unfortunately, his supporters forced him to retract the offer. Vespasian's legions easily fought their way into Rome. Vitellius was found alone in the Palace, whimpering along that none of what had happened had been his fault. The soldiers dragged him through the streets, butchered him, and dumped his bloated carcass into the Tiber. It took Vespasian a decade of stringent, economical rule to repair the damage done by Vitellius and the other short-lived rulers of Rome's infamous Long Year. Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed - 14 day return privilege for any reason. CNG accepts for payment: check, money order or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). The manner of payment accepted is subject to our qualification of the bidder. CNG's Domestic, Canadian, and International postage rates. Pennsylvania residents please add appropriate sales tax. If you would like to learn more about ancient and medieval coinage, visit us at historicalcoins.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------- On 05/17/99 at 12:10:35 PDT, seller added the following information: A couple of individuals have asked about the dig on Vitellius' cheek. The coin is far more mutilated than the image would lead one to believe and we realize that the description should have been more exact. The cut is recent, thus shiny, and is very distracting. The coin should make a nice filler for someone wanting a denarius of Vitellius but doesn't want to spend a lot of money to acquire it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Image] Bidding Bidding is closed for this item. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [eBay logo] Home Listings Buyers Sellers Search Help News/Chat Site Map Thank you for using eBay! About eBay | SafeHarbor Copyright © 1995-1999 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.