Silver Denarius of Vespasian RIC 37

The year was A.D. sixty-nine, let us say,

When Rome was in trouble! Oh, terrible day!

Four different emperors jumped on the throne,

They squabbled and fought for the kingdom alone!

There was Galba and Otho, Vitellius too,

They all made a mess, yes they did, through and through.

Then up stepped a fellow whose name was Vespasian,

To sort out the mess of this messy occasion!

 
He wasn't a fancy-pants prince from a book,

But a tough, wrinkly general is just how he looked.

He stepped into Rome with a grand Flavian plan,

To prove to the folks he was strictly their man.

So he minted this shiny, spectacular dime,

A silver denarius to mark a new time!

On the front side (the obverse), he put his own face,

With a crown made of leaves and a look of high grace.

The letters say IMP CAES VESP AVG PM,

Which means, "I'm the boss, and I'm running the realm!"

But turn the coin over and what do you see?

The reverse is as clever as clever can be!

It says TRI POT for tribunician power,

And features sweet Vesta, the star of the hour!

She's a goddess of hearth fire, of home, and of peace,

Sent to tell every Roman that troubles would cease.

She holds a small cup (called a simpulum, see?),

To bring back tradition and calm stability.

So this little coin from the Rome minting press,

Was made to fix up a big national mess.

It told all the citizens, far, wide, and near:

"Vespasian is here, so you've nothing to fear!"