Ancient Rome - 69-79 CE Vespasian AV Aureus NGC VF

Vespasian AV Aureus, NGC VF, 5/5, 2/5. 6.94g. Rome mint. Obverse: A stern looking laureated Vespasian faces right with VESPASIANVS AUG IMP CAESAR around. Reverse: heifer of Myron stands right. Above is COS VII. Both sides of this impressive specimen have a beaded border. NGC notes edge filing of this specimen on the holder.

Roman copy of Myron's heifer, Musei Capitolini. Photo: Wikipedia.

This Aureus was crafted in the style of the Greek sculptor Myron and depicts a cow. Myron was among antiquity's most renowned sculptors and pursued his craft in the 5th century BCE. It was during that time that Myron created several bronze statues, paving the way for an artistic revolution in Greek culture. Myron was famed for his lifelike renderings of animals, among them a bronze cow. This work was placed atop the Athenian Acropolis and later sent to Rome. Historians feel that Myron's cow was more than likely sent to Rome at the urging of emperor Augustus, for the cow became an important motif used upon his coinage. The engravers of Vespasian and Titus were crafting a derivative of Myron's cow when striking coins for those emperors. It was around 75 CE that the bronze cow, along with other Greek statuary, was placed on the site of the Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace) in Vesparian's Forum in Rome. This was just a few years before the minting of the coin offered here.