Milestone achieved with sensible budget Titus

One of my earliest collector goals was to complete a set of Favian Emperors. That time period is my favorite in Roman history. What's not to like?

You had a wise, humorous old general become emperor, followed by his son, an afable general who showed great promise as an emperor before suffering an untimely death, followed by an exentric amd colorful emperor who was murdered in a conspiracy worthy of being a blockbuster movie. Not to mention the first Jewish revolt, and the building of the Flavian Ampitheatre (Colosseum). As if that wasn't enough, the Flavian Era saw Vesuvius give us two of the best preserved Roman towns of antiquity, and some of the finest authors of ancient Rome were walking the Earth, either writing or soon to write some of the greatest masterpieces of ancient literature. Add a prosperous empire, Roman arts and architecture at their finest, a period of high quality Roman mint output, and those wacky Flavian women's hairdos, and you have yourself a fascinating period in world history.

I already had a Vespasian and a Domitian Denarius, but I was missing Titus. A year ago I bought a Titus, but discovered suspicious signs that it was a good quality forgery and returned it. Well, today I acquired this fine specimen at the Kenneth W. Dorney Auction.


Lot 049. Titus, as Caesar, 69 - 79 AD, Silver Denarius, Titus Seated
Titus, as Caesar, 69 - 79 ADSilver Denarius, Rome Mint, 19mm, 3.20 gramsObverse: T CAESAR IMP VESP, Laureate head of Titus right.Reverse: PON TR P COS III, Titus seated right on curule chair holding scepter and olive branch.RIC692

She definitely saw a lot of circulation in antiquity, but the essential details can still be appreciated, and she has a fine portrait of Titus. Plus these days I'm not as strict about the grade of the coin, as long as there is enough detail remaining to be appreciated, the style is good, and the coin has decent eye appeal. I think this is an honest coin with a good portrait of Titus, and the fact that it cost less than most common Gordian III ants go for is a huge plus. Besides, I think there is a certain charm to a well circulated ancient coin which saw plenty of ancient hands during it's time in circulation.

Six of the twelve Caesars have now been acquired (another goal of mine). What do you think of my latest purchase? And most importantly, share any relevant coins.

PS: Here are Titus' father and brother from my collection.

 

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Looks good!

 

VERY NICE!!!

I finally added a denarius of Titus with this purchase....
...to complement my more abundant varieties of father and brother---

 

Nice addition. just got one myself. Waiting for the mail to come.
Which of the 12 do you have left?

 

Nice job @Sallent ! Nice recovery from the bummer forgery experience.

Here are my circulated Titi:

TITUS:

RI Titus 79-81 CE AR Denarius Ceres seated corn ear poppy torch


RI Titus 79-81 CE AR Denarius Sow piglets

Dad-VESPASIAN:

RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius VICTORIA AVGVST Victory std L Rare

Brother-DOMITIAN:

RI Domitian AR Denarius 81-96 CE Minerva spear shield COS XVI CENS PPP RIC 719

Daughter-hmmm...consort to Uncle Dom - JULIA TITI:

RI Julia Flavia Titi Diva 90-91 CE d-Titus concubine-uncle Domitian AE Sestert 33mm 20.4g - Carpentum mules SPQR - SC rare

 

Awesome frowny portrait!!

Here are my Flavians:
Vespasian, denarius, RIC 703:

Titus as Caesar, RIC 863[vesp] R2 (rare variety obv. legend):


Domitian as Caesar, AE as with Spes, RIC 350[titus]:

Titus and Domitian as Augusti are both on my list.

 

I have Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Still missing Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Galba, Otho, and Vitellus.

I'm doing a mixed bronze/silver collection, so as long as they are portrait coins that's all that matters. I'm even open to provincials for harder to find emperors like Caligula.

Not rushing though, it's a long term milestone. If it was that urgent I would have completed it a year ago.

Photos of the 6 out of 12 Caesars which I do have:


Julius Caesar


Augustus


Claudius


Vespasian


Titus


Domitian

 

Congrats on your Flavian denarius to complete your set and at a great price you can't go wrong Sallent, Titus was my last Flavian denarius as well. TITUS, 79 AD, 3.41gm, RIC 10.

 

Your example of Titus is fantastic. And yeah, happy to have completed the set at a reasonable price. I'm in for $270 on all three coins in the set, an average of $90 a coin, which is a sweet price for what I got.

 

Thanks, my Vespasian and Domitian denarius are a little worn, but you seem to have done well at 90 dollars a coin, by the time I paid fees and hammer I spent on my Titus about what you did on all three.....

 

Very nice group so far. Good luck on the rest

 

One of the actions I most admire about Titus was his decree ending trials based on (usually bogus) charges of treason. From Wikipedia:

"One of his first acts as Emperor was to order a halt to trials based on treason charges,[56] which had long plagued the principate. The law of treason, or law of majestas, was originally intended to prosecute those who had corruptly "impaired the people and majesty of Rome" by any revolutionary action.[57] Under Augustus, however, this custom had been revived and applied to cover slander and libel as well.[57] This led to numerous trials and executions under Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero, and the formation of networks of informers (Delators), which terrorized Rome's political system for decades.[56]

Titus put an end to this practice, against himself or anyone else, declaring:

'It is impossible for me to be insulted or abused in any way. For I do naught that deserves censure, and I care not for what is reported falsely. As for the emperors who are dead and gone, they will avenge themselves in case anyone does them a wrong, if in very truth they are demigods and possess any power.[58]'

His strength of character and self-assuredness are outstanding, even among Roman emperors. He was a rara avis among ancient and modern rulers.

The OP coin is outstanding for its portrait, still fully recognizable and artistically rendered despite the coin's wear.

 

Well, it was money well spent. It's hard to do better on Titus than the fantastic quality of your coin. I bet you are proud every time you hold it in your hands. I know I would.

I thought about spending more on my set, but I just have too many competing Numismatics interests to go really crazy on any of them. Between my constant search for Roman Republic denarii, recent addiction to ancient Chinese coins, my addiction to 3rd century Imperials, and my hunt for interesting ancient Greek coins, something has got to give. I can get superb coins if I just focus on one category, or I can compromise and get decent samples of everything I'm after and get closer to my goals in each category.

I have to check, but I think I'm already way past 50 coins for the year, probably approaching 60 as we speak. I know my count of 130 coins in my collection was done a few months ago. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm really past 145. I'll update my catalog this weekend and find out.

 

that is a great purchase @Sallent ! I too really like the portrait-very expressive.

Here are my 2 coins of Titus.

 

Nice Titus mt Cuban American coin bro. I find Titus the hardest to get of the three Flavians.

VESPASIAN
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head right
REVERSE: COS ITER TR POT, Pax seated left, holding branch and caduceus
Struck at Rome, 69-71 AD
3.31g, 18mm
RIC 29; RSC 94h; Sear 2285

TITUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M Laureate head of Titus to right
REVERSE: TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P Wreath on curule chair
Struck at Rome, January-June 80AD
3.41g, 19mm
RIC 108
Ex JAZ Numismatics

DOMITIAN
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG - GERM P M TR P VIII Head laureate right
REVERSE: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P Minerva fighting right with spear and shield atop capital of rostral column, owl at her feet
Struck at Rome, 88-89 AD
3.55g, 18.44mm
RIC 657 (R )

 

Congrats Sallent, I follow the same path, only difference is that I want the 12 Caesars in silver and in bronze.

 

@Bing, I love that Domitian portrait! @Ancient Aussie, yes, that Titus is beauty.

 

Nicely done @Sallent. I like how the circulation wear doesn't affect many of the fine details of the facial features. A very attractive example!

 

I agree about the Flavian era. Interesting times in history for sure. There were some really nice coins produced too, including yours.

 

Congratulations, Sallent! And very nice coins everyone . I love the pegasuses (is that the right way to say it?).