094: Rome. Vitellius, April - December 69 AD. Gold Aureus
May-26-08

Closed at:US $200,000.00

   Rome. Vitellius, April - December 69 AD. Gold Aureus (7.31 g), 
   Rome, struck August - early December 69 AD. Laureate head of 
   Vitellius right. Reverse: Vesta seated right, holding patera 
   and scepter; PONT MAXIM. RIC 106; Biaggi 282 (this coin); 
   BMCRE 33; Calicó 571 (this coin); C. 71. Lustrous, well struck 
   and with an excellent portrait. Beautifully toned a deep, 
   luscious reddish brown, resplendent with iridescent reds, 
   magentas and steel blues. Very rare. NGC graded About 
   Uncirculated. 

   Rome witnessed the spectacle of four emperors in AD 69, after 
   the suicide of Nero the previous year, as well as a civil war. 
   Each of these four had larger-than-life personal 
   characteristics which are reflected in the numismatic 
   portraiture and told in historical accounts. As can be 
   imagined, the coinages under Otho and Vitellius are 
   particularly rare. 
   Estimated Value $70,000 - 80,000. 
   Ex "Perfectionist Collection," Leu 93, 10 May 2005, lot 11; ex 
   collection of L. Biaggi, Bank Leu 25, 23 April 1980, 261; and 
   from the Bosco Reale hoard of 1895. Illustrated in Money of 
   the World, coin 40. 

Images & text re-used by permission, courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, Beverly Hills, CA