Thank you all ..... or rather "schon danke"
In my initial euphoria I realize now that I failed to give any attribution !
As best I can determine it would be this
Vespasian AE Sestertius AD 71
Obv. IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III
Laureate head of Vespasian right
Rv.IVDAEA CAPTA in exergue SC
Judaea in attitude of mourning seated right beneath palm tree, to left captive Jew with hands tied behind back standing right arms behind
24.58 Grams 31.5mm
RIC 233 Cohen 233
As this is of course an 'educational' forum I suppose that for our less informed members I should add that Vespasian was appointed by the emperor Nero to suppress the so-called first "Jewish Revolt" which broke out in AD 66.
This rebellion occured after the Roman Governor, Gessius Florus, had his soldiers enter the treasury of the great Temple and remove 17 talents of silver. After unrest spread throughout Jerusalem, Florus ordered the troops to arrest the city leaders and had them crucified.
The province proceeded to explode !
The Roman puppet king Agrippa II fled and Roman officials and citizens were massacred. The initial attempt to regain control of the province was undertaken by the Syrian legate Cestius Gallus using legion XII Fulminata.
Initially successful the legion inexplicably withdrew from the vicinity of Jerusalem and marched back toward the coast. They proceeded to get wiped out by a rebel army and Gallus fled the field with the legion XII sustaining 6,000 casualties and the sacred eagle of the legion being captured by the rebel forces.
The experienced general Vespasian arrived on the scene AD 67 and brought in his son Titus from Alexandria.
The Romans now had 3 full legions plus local auxilliaries for a total force exceeding 60,000 armed men.
The countryside was quickly pacified and Jerusalem became the focus of the climax to the war. When Nero committed suicide in AD 69 the emperors Galba, Otho and Vitellius followed in rapid succession.
After the legions in Judaea balked at accepting Vitellius they hailed their commander Vespasian as emperor. Vespasian hastened to form new alliances and challenged Vitellius for control of the empire while he left his son Titus in charge of the final assault on Jerusalem.
Before Vespasian even reached Italy his allies defeated Vitellius in battle and the hapless emperor was executed in Rome.
By AD 70 Titus had finished with the conquest of Jerusalem and demolished the great Jewish Temple
. That act echoes throughout the millennia and probably more than any single military campaign causes strife unto this very day.
Titus left Judaea and rejoined the emperor in Rome where coins were issued for both men with the famous (nay infamous !)
JVDAEA CAPTA reverse.
While not exceedingly rare they are still exceedingly hard to come by !
At least at a price most of us would care to pay .....
....... Something I have wanted for nearly 40 years at a price that didn't break me. 
Posted 11/06/2015 2:07 pm
