Vitellius, 2nd January – 20th December 69
Aureus late April-December 69, AV 7.28 g. A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P Laureate head r. Rev. [L VI]TELLIVS COS III CENSOR Lucius Vitellius, togate, seated l. on curule chair, feet on stool, holding eagle-tipped sceptre in l. hand and extending r. C 54 var. (branch in r. hand). BMC 23. RIC 95. CBN 54. Faces of Power 44. Calicó 565a (this coin). Very rare and in superb condition for this difficult issue. A bold portrait struck in high relief and a lovely light reddish tone. Slightly off-centre on reverse, otherwise good extremely fine 40000 Ex NFA sale XXX, 1992, 227. Possibly from the Boscoreale hoard of 1895. This coin is sold with an export licence issued by the government of Spain. Each of Romes emperors (except Otho, whose lineage was not particularly distinguished) had celebrated their ancestors as a means of buoying their own legitimacy. Augustus made the most of his relationship with Julius Caesar, Tiberius did likewise with Augustus and Livia, Caligula and Claudius honored the many nobles from whom they were descended, and Nero initially trumpeted Agrippina and Claudius. Even Galba – the first non-Julio-Claudian emperor – trumpeted his close ties to the deified Livia. On this rare aureus, the newest emperor Vitellius acts likewise: he celebrates his illustrious father, Lucius Vitellius, who, as the reverse inscription indicates, was Censor and held the Consulship three times. Vitellius' father was undoubtedly the most important politician of his age. He was a shameless flatterer, was pragmatic in his dealings with Tiberius: not only did he provide his son (the future emperor Vitellius) to Tiberius as one of his male prostitutes during his final years on Capri, but he was also skilful enough to survive the reign of Caligula, to later reach his height of influence under Claudius. After an illustrious, if not prideful, career, Lucius Vitellius probably died late in the reign of Claudius or early in the reign of Nero, long before the most famous of his four sons became emperor.