Listed as common, this denarius is devilishly hard to find. Perhaps it is over-represented in the museum collections. What makes this denarius rare is the lack of PP in the reverse legend. Rarity aside, this coin has a couple of other attractive features. First, I rather like the Vespasian-like portrait. It is worn but has much charm in my view. I also really like the Capricorn on the reverse. It is rendered with considerable skill and artistry. This coin was struck very early in the reign of Titus. Some of these early coins for Titus as Augustus are very hard to find and this one is no exception. So, if you see a coin of Titus without PP in the legend, you will know it is rare. In fact, this coin is the only denarius in the first 2 groups of coins for Titus as Augustus that is marked as common. All of the other denarii in these groups are rare to extremely rare. I count myself very fortunate to have added 3 denarii from the first 2 groups to my collection. At first glance, this coin just looks like a coin with a worn portrait. However, coins like this are worth a second glance, particularly if you are hunting Flavian rarities. Please post your coins of Titus or a rarity mistaken as a common coin. Titus AR Denarius. Rome. 79 CE after July 1. (18mm 3.19g) Obv: Head laureate right; IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM Rev: Capricorn left, globe below; TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII RIC 5; BMC P. 224 note; RSC 280a Purchased from CGB (cgbfr.com) July 1, 2021
Congrats on the acquisition. I find this coin very pleasant + an interesting reverse. My only Titus denarius is not nearly as nice but I like it. Also Titus as Caesar. The first denarius I bought individually (I already had 12 from 2 lots) and the first coin that made me say "I really want this". I was an absolute beginner and I was just learning that not all Roman coins have a reverse with somebody seated or standing. RIC Vespasian 986. On the same auction I have bough a rarity mistaken as a common coin. This is, as far as I know, the rarest quadrans with the she-wolf. The others, with different obverse legend (IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN....) are common.
I love it when a long-sought-after coin slips under the radar and, as a specialist collector, I'm able to appreciate it for its rarity and pick it up for a reasonable price at auction. I'm glad that happened to you, @Orfew -- and glad that you and I have different specialties and are not competing for the same coins! I have many such coins in my Faustina I and II collection that I acquired because their rarity was unappreciated. Perhaps the most dramatic is this first issue denarius of Faustina I, which I discussed last year, issued before Antoninus Pius received the title of Pater Patriae. Indeed, that lack of P P in the inscription can make all the difference! Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman AR denarius, 2.85 g, 16.6 mm, 5 h. Rome, first issue, AD 138-139. Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG, bare-headed and draped bust of Faustina, right. Rev: CONCORDIA AVG, Concordia seated left, holding patera and resting left arm on throne, cornucopiae under chair. Refs: British Museum 1978, 0314.2; cf. Strack 391 (Ashmolean), Hunter 1 (GLAHM 26918). RIC --; Cohen --; RCV --; CRE --. Notes: BMC p. 8* cites Strack 392 in error; RSC 146b correctly cites Strack 391 and cites BMC p. 8*.
That is a very nice catch! I very much enjoy the flyspecking that is a part of collecting these amazing pieces of history. Thanks for posting your example. Also, yes I am glad too that we do not compete for the same coins! You would be a formidable adversary.
Last weekend we went for a little hiking tour to a small picturest town called Avenches, which is about 2 hours from where I live. Avenches was the antique Aventicum, a Roman town of which the arena, the theater and some remainders of a temple are still standing so is a very impressive wall, towers and gates. The town flourished in the 1st and 2nd centuries and declined rapidly in the course of the 3rd century. By the end of the 3rd century the public buildings had fallen out of use. The arena was used as retreat in the case of Germanic attacks and many buildings had been dismanteled to fortify the protective walls. Some years ago a gilded bust of Marcus Aurelius was found in the ancient sewers, where it had been hidden during times of unrest. Anyway, Aventicum was home to some Roman prominence. For example, the Otacilli family, of which Marcia Otacilia was a member, was from Aventicum. More importantly, Aventicum was the ancestral home of the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian's father was a rich banker in Aventicum and his son Titus spent parts of his childhood in Aventicum. Some pictures of modern Avenches: Von Aventicum nach Avenches › reiseziele.ch
