Divus Vespasian (AD 69-79). AR denarius (18mm, 5h). NGC Fine. Rome, AD 80-81. DIVVS AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS•, laureate head of Divus Vespasian right / Funeral quadriga advancing left, car ornamented with figures and surmounted by statuette of quadriga flanked by Victories holding palm fronds and wreaths, EX SC in exergue. RIC II (Titus) 361. The death and deification of Vespasian in AD 79 was marked by an extensive commemorative coinage struck by his son and successor Titus. The Roman biographer Suetonius records a remarkable foreshadowing witticism which had been made by the late emperor while he was suffering from the severe dysentery that would take his life shortly thereafter: "Vae, puto deus fio" ("Woe's me, I think I'm becoming a god"). HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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