A Rare Titus is Slab Free!

I'm very pleased about my latest Titus denarius for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's an exceedingly rare left facing type that is very hard to come by in trade. In nearly 12 years of collecting I've never come across this one. The eminent Flavian collector Harry Sneh once lamented to me that this left facing Column reverse along with Titus RIC 2 (Annona) were the only two denarius types of Titus as Augustus he was unable to acquire - just to give an idea of how rare the coin really is, despite the RIC frequency rating of 'rare'.

Secondly, the coin was slabbed and I had the pleasure of freeing it! Unfortunately, it was auctioned by Heritage and I had to dearly fight for it. Luckily I won.



Titus
AR Denarius, 3.04g
Rome Mint, 79 AD
RIC 47 (R), BMC 28, RSC 291
Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, l.
Rev: TR P VIIII IMP XV COS VII P P; Rostral column, ornamented at sides with beaks of ships and surmounted by a statue, radiate, naked except for cloak, standing front, holding vertical spear in r. hand and parazonium at side in l.

The column reverse is a carry-over type from the last issue of Vespasian. Extremely rare with left facing portrait.

Here is the coin in its slab 'tomb':



I think this is much better:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Very nice David. I am glad you were able to add this rare type to your collection.

 

Nice coin, and good job springing it from jail.

 

Congrats on acquiring a special coin!

 

Who clicked on the thread thinking it was a giveaway?!??

 

Another of the ungradeables? Do they not grade coins that are not EF+?

 

Thanks. Amended the title so as not to cause confusion.

 

Might get more clicks with the old title

 

Excellent!! "Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit." -Moliere
Sounds like it has found an appreciative home.

 

I thought there were several options. Cheap options with no grades, etc, or more expensive option with more info.

 

oh dang, I thought you meant you got it for free...that would have been awesome.

still, a cool coin for you collection...and cool to see it "out and about"!

 

Nice coin David, actually after that type myself.

 

Congratulations David. I would like to stumble across such a rarity some day, but with my budget, it's not likely.

 

Congrats on scoring the rarity.. this one does look a lot happier out of the slab.

 

Agreed. I think this is a more appropriate home.

 

Cool reverse ... I'm sure that it's very happy in its new home (I hope that both of you stay very happy together)

 

Yeah, this is strange. I guess I could write NGC and ask about the new gradeless slabs, just to see what they say.

@David Atherton, did this coin come from Heritage's eBay store? So far I've only seen the gradeless NGC slabs from Heritage, although I haven't gone out of my way to search for them elsewhere. I wonder if it is some special discount arrangement Heritage has with NGC.

 

Yes, the coin is from their eBay store. I too was puzzled about the missing grade - it certainly didn't discourage folks from bidding though!

 

I like your new and improved holder. It looks a lot like mine except I place my accession number in the lower left corner (in pen) and my sort number (in pencil because it can change) on the back flap. These numbers help associate the envelope and coin with my photo file and database entries.

 

To be honest, I got the idea to switch over to paper envelopes about six months ago from a post of yours discussing your storage method. I really love using paper envelopes because they are traditional, functionally superior to other holders, and let's not forget cheap! So, I owe you a bit of gratitude.