Won this beautiful Titus sestertius in the latest Leu auction - the reverse is down below: 34.5mm, 26.70 grams Titus struck a number of sestertii at an unknown mint in Thrace, but the more common ones - although none are common - show a large portrait and a more stylized reverse. This type with the more "realistic" portrait are extremely rare - ascearch does not show a single other example with this reverse, and only one like this but with a "Judea Capta" reverse. The flan on this coin is extremely well made and the coin is large and heavy with a medallic appearance. One of the reasons I love bronze is that what you get is often much better than what you see. That's due to the difficulty of photographing these coins - the pics have a tendency to show and exaggerate every mark and crack. Of course this works in reverse when the coin is sold. But on the whole bronzes are one of the few types where a sharp eye can recognize something greater than the photograph. I would love to say I have the skill to see this but I have made many mistakes in the past. And this one could use some very (VERY) careful cleaning - the coin has a small divot that fortunately does not distract from the beauty of the reverse. But a little cleaning is in order. All of Titus' Thracian sestertii that I have seen have are COS VIII - I will supplement this with some history about that period I have not had the time to check out what events took place during Titus' eighth counselship but will supplement. There is a coin of Domitian with a very even flan that shows Domitian on horseback spearing a soldier - there is a shield as well and a stylized portrait. This flan and overall look bears a heavy resemblance to that coin. I will photograph it and supplement but if this is Thracian minted - and it is - then perhaps Domitian's coin is as well. I know that Domitian also struck rare sestertii in Thrace - I came across an example while researching this coin. This was one of those times where the coin I purchased turned out to be ALOT nicer than the coin I thought I purchased - I am sure you have had the same experience. Perhaps you can share some examples?
The large portraits coins of Titus and NOT THRACIAN mints but LUGDUNUM! I apologize for the error - Lugdunum is in Gaul - not Thracia! I really have to FOCUS when doing these submissions. I really wish there was a way to change the article but it is too late. It was a shock when I received the coin since I’d not really paid attention to the size when I bid on it. In fact, the bid was an afterthought as there was a large lot of potin tetradrachms in the auction that I was interested in. I did not expect that the low bid (under $300) would be successful. It shows that there are bargains, even with what I believe is an overall price increase for ancients. Having not spent any money at the New York coin show after saving up this was a welcome purchase. I also need to check out what was happening during Titus‘s eighth counselship. I only know of two ancient historians that addressed Titus’s reign – Suetonius and Cassius Dio. There should be a reason why a Thracian mint was active during this period. But then again, a mint in Thrace was striking bronze coins during Claudius’s reign as shown by the coins of Britannicus and Agrippina II. Although these are very rare, the Titus Thracian coins are much less so. Also I do not have the more recent RIC for Titus - are the Thracian types in the update??
