Another Tiny Titus

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by David Atherton, Jun 28, 2017.

  1. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    A recent acquisition I'm just now getting around to playing with.

    T91.jpg Titus
    AR Quinarius, 1.55g
    Rome mint, 79-80 AD
    RIC 91 (C), BMC 108, RSC 356
    Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
    Rev: VICTORIA AVGVST (clockwise, inwardly, from low l.); Victory adv. r., with wreath and palm
    Ex CNG E399, 14 June 2017, lot 486.

    Titus struck a small undated issue of quinarii, most of which are fairly rare. This traditional Victory type is copied from quinarii minted by Vespasian. Struck in a fine and neat style, typical of the mint during this period.

    Boy, do I really love these Flavian quinarii! Post any tiny treasures you have, Flavian or not.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
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  3. alde

    alde Always Learning

    Nice David, what is the approximate diameter? I don't have one but will sure look for one.
     
  4. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    Around 16mm. It isn't a coin you want to handle in a room with shag carpeting!
     
  5. alde

    alde Always Learning

    I know of what you speak from experience. They don't have to be that small to vanish.
     
  6. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Nice pickup David. I really like the portraits on these quinarii
    Here is my quinarius but it not Flavian. It is Marcus Antonius. However, it does have victory on the reverse. In fact the poses are similar. Is this another example of Flavian coins paying homage to earlier coins?



    M Ant quina.jpg
     
  7. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    A terrific coin! A very apt post considering I'm in the middle of re-watching HBO's Rome series.

    I do believe the Flavian Victories are indeed paying homage to the earlier issues. It seems to have been a major theme of the Rome mint in the early Flavian era to do so.
     
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  8. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    True. I once lost an antoninianus in a Meijer parking lot on a cold rainy night. Don't ask. o_O
     
  9. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Intriguing little coin! I don't have a single quinarius to show. I'll certainly be on the lookout for one!
     
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  10. red_spork

    red_spork Triumvir monetalis

    Excellent tiny treasure and a surprisingly well executed portrait for how tiny it is.
     
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  11. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    very fine coin! i only have one quin. in my collection thus far and it's of the time of the social wars. M. Cato 89bc. quinarius Cato the Elder 89 bc 001.JPG quinarius Cato the Elder 89 bc 002.JPG
     
  12. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Looks great David
     
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  13. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    Very cool...and of exceptional detail...Congrats David!!

    I have three 'Republican' quinarii...

    rr M Cato quinarius.jpg RR quinarius egnat.jpg rr quinarius c cloelius-- marius and teutones cimbri.jpg
     
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  14. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Great quinarii everyone, and I love the OP coin!
     
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  15. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I really like that. Nice toning and overall appearance.

    I've never had a quinarius.

    (Or siliqua, either, for that matter.)
     
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  16. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    LOL

    I'll definitely not bring my 10mm hekte over for a play date, then!

    I remember my grandmother's apartment in 1979 had mustard-yellow shag carpeting. (Ahh, tackiness, thy name was "1970s".)

    Grammy was totally paranoid about me having my coins out in her living room. If you were playing with anything smaller than the average housecat in that room, she would say, "NOT ON THE CARPET!!! IT'LL GET STUCK IN THE VACUUM CLEANER!"

    More off-topic reminiscences of my paternal grandmother, who passed away in 1980:
    1. She was farsighted, and even with glasses on, had a hard time threading needles. She'd call me over to do that.
    2. She wore dentures.
    3. She had difficulty bending to pick things up, which made her all the more paranoid about the shag carpet.
    4. She was everything you'd ever want in a grandparent, but had a bit of a temper and was known to attack inanimate objects when she lost it (she once hacked a cardboard milk carton to shreds with a butcher knife when she couldn't get it open the normal way).
    Fast forward 38 years, and with the exception of gender and the fact that I'm not a grandparent myself yet, all of the items above now describe ME.

    I not only miss her ... I've become her. (Sort of.)
     
  17. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    (Back on topic)

    There were gold quinarii too, right?

    Struck from the same dies as the silver ones sometimes? Like the denarius/aureus die linkages?
     
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  18. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    (Aaaand back to the shag carpet theme)

    I once lost a loose Indian gold fanam in @Aethelred's living room.

    We finally gave up the search.

    Months later, if I remember correctly, he or his spouse swept it out from beneath the refrigerator ... in his kitchen.

    So with tiny coins you don't even need shag carpeting for them to enter the Twilight Zone.

    (OK. Enough. I shall now cease and desist. On with the original topic.)
     
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  19. lehmansterms

    lehmansterms Many view intelligence as a hideous deformity

    The strong tendency for Imperial AR quinarii to use the Victory reverse is a tradition which was preserved and came down from the time of the "Victoriatus" - a similarly small AR coin of the earlier Republic which was a fraction of one of the earlier larger denominations like the quadrigatus.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  20. Dafydd

    Dafydd Supporter! Supporter

    M.CATOA.JPG MCATOB.JPG This is my little Quanarius alongside my Galba denarius for comparison. The Galba turned up today and I am posting for some comments separately.
    This one is M.Cato with Victory seated on the reverse. Sear 248 RRC 343/2. Diameter is 13.7mm and the weight is 2.12 gms. As you can see I am still working on the photography............
     
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  21. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    The Flavians striking quinarii with traditional reverse types perfectly illustrates just how antiquarian the Rome mint was under them. Even the new designs the mint came up with were traditional in appearance. Perhaps it has something to do with Vespasian coming from a humble background?
     
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