Sometimes one acquires a coin whose meaning is very elusive and prompts more questions than answers. IMHO, this is just such a coin. Titus as Caesar Æ As, 10.31g Rome mint, 73 AD (Vespasian) RIC 644 (R). BMC 677. Obv: T CAES IMP PON TR P COS II CENS; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: VICTORIA NAVALIS; S C in field; Victory stg. r. on prow, with wreath and palm Acquired from Praefetus Coins, July 2019. A fairly scarce variant of the Victoria Navalis type, struck in 73 when Titus held the joint censorship with Vespasian. The type would be repeatedly struck throughout Vespasian's reign for both father and son, perhaps indicating how important it was to their military gravitas. Traditionally, it has been attributed to the naval victory Vespasian and Titus won on Lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) during the Jewish War. By any definition it is a most bizarre 'naval' battle indeed. Near the close of the Galilean campaign, Vespasian and Titus marched to Lake Gennesaret in order to secure the cities along its coastline. Tiberias fell without much resistance, but the neighbouring city of Taricheae was a tougher nut to crack. Home to many of the Jewish rebels who had fled Tiberias, they put up a small fight on the plain outside the city and were quickly defeated by Titus' troops who then stormed the city and began slaughtering the inhabitants. Many of the rebels took flight to waiting boats they had previously commandeered on the lake. These were likely local fishing or ferry vessels not intended for use in war. Vespasian ordered the legionaries to construct large rafts in order to pursue the rebel's makeshift flotilla. With the coastline guarded by Roman horsemen the legionaries launched their rafts and sailed out in a large line toward the enemy. The Jewish boats were no match for the heavily armoured Roman rafts. The legionaries easily picked off the Jewish rebels who had no means of escape. The slaughter was intense, so much so that Josephus claims 6,500 Jews were killed. Several years later during Vespasian and Titus' Jewish War Triumph in Rome, ships were displayed to commemorate the battle. Were the Victoria Navalis coins struck with the same event in mind? As unlikely as it seems, the impromptu 'naval' battle at Lake Gennesaret is the best candidate for Vespasian striking this Actium-lite reverse type. The connection to Augustus would not have been lost on his contemporaries. Flavian propaganda at its most exaggerated. I used to be sceptical of this interpretation, but I'm at a loss to explain it otherwise. Perhaps Victory should be standing on a raft instead? Feel free to post coins with elusive meanings.
Great coin and interesting write up, I bought mine a few years back from a Vcoin dealer as well. Titus as Caesar, struck 72-73 AD, Navalis.....commemorating victory over the Jews on the sea of Galilee. 11.08gm. 26mm RIC II 644.
Nice catch David, beautiful patina on that one as well. Here's the sister type. TITUS, as Caesar. 79-81 AD. Æ As 28mm 8.6 gm. Struck 74 AD. O: T CAES IMP PON TR P COS III CENS, laureate head left R: VICTORIA AVGVST, S C across field, Victory standing right on prow, holding wreath and palm. RIC 755 (Vespasian); BMCRE 711A (Vespasian) note var. (head right); cf. Cohen 363. This obverse legend with PON TR P added and CAESAR abbreviated to CAES is only known on one coin paired with this reverse type (BMCRE 711A note), but that coin's obverse has Titus facing right. The references mentioned are from the only other example I could find online. I believe this is the third known left facing example.
Below is my similar type. Not great, but the price was nice. Vespasian. COS III. Rome mint. 71AD. RIC II 355. Diam.: 16.5 mm. Weight: 11.3 gr. Ditto here, but I have now "jumped ship" on that position. (Pun intended.) I've also read that the VICTORIA NAVALIS commemoration could include the combined Roman naval successes on the Sea of Galilee AND off the coast of Joppa.
Excellent ! The closest I can contribute with is the AD 77 version : Titus as ceasar, As - AD 77 T CAES IMP AVG F TR P COS VI CENSOR, Laureate head of Titus right VICTORIA NAVALIS, Victory standing right, on a prow of galley. S C in field 10.14 gr Ref : Cohen #390, RCV #2485 var Q
* * * EDIT OF MY ABOVE POST (2nd above this post) * * * I just today realized two errors in my minimally supplied data above. The following info is correct... Vespasian. COS III. Rome mint. 71AD. RIC II 335 Diam.: 29 x 28 mm. Weight: 11.31 gr.
This coin, which I purchased from the November 1987 Claude Burgan auction, is unfortunately no longer in my collection but a nice example of the Titus Victoria Navalis type so I thought I would share:
