Vitellius Sestertius, RIC I (second edition) Vitellius 120

Monetary Context and Imperial Ideology

The sestertius occupied a central position within the Augustan monetary system, functioning as the primary high-value token denomination in daily commercial life and administrative payments throughout the western provinces. Struck in yellow brass (orichalcum), an alloy of copper and zinc valued at twice the tariff of pure red copper, the sestertius was nominally worth four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. During the civil wars of AD 68 to 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors, control over base-metal minting conveyed vital ideological and administrative legitimacy. Galba, Otho, and Vitellius each attempted to assert continuity with Julio-Claudian statecraft while addressing pressing logistical obligations. Large-format bronze issues like RIC I (second edition) Vitellius 120 communicated immediate political stances across civilian and military sectors, visually affirming senatorial collaboration through the explicit S C inscription while celebrating martial virtues essential to an embattled regime fighting for survival.

Production Standards and Mint Allocation

RIC I (second edition) Vitellius 120 was struck exclusively at the mint of Rome. In early imperial practice, base-metal coinage traditionally adhered to an average weight standard fluctuating around twenty-five to twenty-eight grams with a flan diameter generally ranging between thirty-four and thirty-seven millimeters. Although Vitellian mints operated in Gaul and the Rhineland earlier in AD 69 (notably at Lugdunum and Spanish or auxiliary military locations), official bronze production with standard senatorial sanction shifted primarily to Rome following Vitellius's formal entry into the capital during July AD 69. The technical execution of the Rome mint dies reflects high stylistic competence, featuring deeply engraved portraits and polished execution characteristic of the metropolitan die-cutters, who quickly adapted from Galba and the Julio-Claudians to depict Vitellius's distinctive, heavy-set physical features.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of this sestertius features a right-facing portrait of Aulus Vitellius, described numismatically as laureate and draped. Imperial portraiture of Vitellius is renowned for its unsparing verism, contrasting sharply with the idealized classicism of the earlier Julio-Claudian dynasty. The die engravers at Rome rendered the emperor with prominent jowls, a broad neck, deep facial furrows, and a heavy chin, capturing the somatic reality documented by contemporary historians like Suetonius and Tacitus. The laurel wreath symbolizes imperatorial victory, while the drapery visible along the lower truncation of the bust imparts an air of formal dignity and civilian magistracy. The portrait occupies the majority of the flan, encircled by a finely beaded border and an uninterrupted titular inscription.

Reverse Iconography of Mars

The reverse iconography of RIC 120 depicts the god Mars in a dynamic, aggressive posture known as Mars Gradivus. Mars is shown striding rapidly to the right, helmeted and wearing only a military cloak (chlamys) draped across his chest or billowing behind his shoulders. In his right hand he brandishes a spear pointing forward and downward, while his left shoulder supports a military trophy (tropaeum) composed of captured armor mounted upon a pole. This motif of the advancing war god served as an explicit invocation of military prowess, reassurance of impending victory, and dedication to the legionary forces that had raised Vitellius to the purple along the Rhine frontier.Flanking the lower field of the composition are the large letters S and C, reaffirming that the coin was struck by decree of the Roman Senate (Senatus Consulto).

Epigraphy and Titular Legend

The obverse legend reads continuously: A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP AVG P M TR P. This comprehensive titulature encapsulates Vitellius's official titles following his accession to the high offices of state in Rome. The praenomen Aulus (A) precedes his gentilic name Vitellius, followed by the honorific Germanicus, a title conferred by his Rhine legions which he famously preferred above Augustus or Caesar. Later in his rule he formally accepted the core components of imperial power: Imperator (IMP), Augustus (AVG), Pontifex Maximus (P M), and the Tribunician Power (TR P). The reverse carries no narrative legend, relying entirely on the visual force of the mythological figure paired with the constitutional sanction represented by the senatorial formula S C (Senatus Consulto) positioned in the left and right fields.

Typology and Chronological Placement

Within the typology organized by C. H. V. Sutherland in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume I, type 120 is assigned to the concluding phase of Vitellius's reign at the Rome mint, specifically between late July or August and his death in December AD 69. The inclusion of P M (Pontifex Maximus) and TR P (Tribunicia Potestate) provides an essential chronological terminus post quem, as Vitellius postponed the formal assumption of these traditional Augustan offices until some weeks after entering the city of Rome in mid-July. Neighboring sestertius types from this terminal issue feature related deities and personifications such as Pax, Ceres, and Victoria, as well as civic pledges of loyalty like Concordia Augusti. Type 120 represents one of the few strictly martial sestertius compositions struck in the city during this concluding window.

Circulation, Survival, and Deposition

Because the minting window for the Rome sestertii of Vitellius bearing full imperial titles lasted barely five months, total production volume was restricted compared to the voluminous bronze outputs of Nero or Vespasian. Following the decisive Flavian capture of Rome and the death of Vitellius in late December AD 69, Vitellian bronze was not subjected to systematic damnatio memoriae through official mutilation, but it was steadily displaced by the massive bronze coinages struck under Vespasian beginning in AD 70 and 71. While many sestertii remained in circulation throughout the western provinces for several decades due to persistent shortages of base-metal currency, they experienced heavy wear. Consequently, well-preserved examples of RIC I (second edition) Vitellius 120 are scarce today in institutional and private collections.

References

1. The Aes Coinage of Galba. pp. 1-15
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. I: Augustus to Vitellius. pp. 376-382
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. I: From 31 BC to AD 69 (revised edition). p. 273, no. 120
4. Roman Coins. pp. 165-178