'The Delight and Darling of the Human Race' Rare Denarius

It's not very often that I'm able to add a new Titus denarius to my collection I don't already have. When I do, personally, it is a cause for celebration! Much like Mat's 'White Whale', this is one I've waited a long time for.


Titus
AR Denarius
Rome mint, 79 AD
RIC 35 (R), BMC 11, RSC 268a
Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M; Head of Titus, Laureate, bearded, l.
Rev: TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII P P; Venus stg. r. leaning on column, with helmet and spear

Titus' 14th imperial acclamation dates between 1 July to at least before 8 September 79 as the two documents below indicate - the first is a letter Titus addressed to the city of Munigua on 7 September, and the second a military diploma dated 8 September, both still show him as IMP XIIII. Effectively, this coin was struck during the time of the Mount Vesuvius eruption on 24 August, although the traditional date of the disaster is now disputed and may possibly have been later in the year.



Left facing portraits of Titus are much rarer than right facing, perhaps to a ratio of 1:10. This left facing Venus type from the second issue after 1 July is extremely difficult to find. Listed simply as 'rare' by the new RIC, this is perhaps one of those types which might be a bit rarer than the rating indicates.

Somewhat worn, but nicely centered and in fine style. I've noticed over the years that those denarii of Titus with dots in the legend tend to be of a finer style, such as this coin.

 

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I am beyond impressed at the number of varieties of Flavian Dynasty coinage and that you have most of them!

 

Wow David, that is a great coin. Thanks for the photo and for the additional information. Congrats on this great addition to your collection.

 

What a great coin! Is it typical to have the first "I" in "VIIII" be so much larger than the others? In fact, it looks more like a "T" than an "I".

 

Thank you for the very kind words! It has been a labour of love putting the collection together. However, as the above coin indicates, I still have much to do. Since many of the more common types are accounted for, it is now down to seeking out the rarer varieties, a task which in of itself is quite fun. The thrill of the hunt as they say...

 

It is actually part of a line which is normally above the numerals. In this case it is a bit worn, so you cannot see it as well.

 

Ahhh, that line!

 

Here are two of the more common right facers (the second one fourree). The numeral VIIII has a line over it as appropriate for a numeral of this period. The T look was probably brought on by die wear. I felt the need for one of these to compare with the common reverse of Julia Domna which replaces the helmet with an apple and the spear with a palm.

 

Fabulous find. Congratulations.

 

Already mentioned on forvm, but congrats again and a super neat coin.

 

Congratulations on an excellent find of great rarity!

 

nice v70, good info also...thanks for posting!

 

Roman coins with representations of statuary are very important art historically, because it helps the historians figure out the actual pose of a statue (that is often in parts and only conjecturally pieced together).

With enough coins and written sources, it is *almost* possible to imagine what a Greek original would have looked like. Almost...

 

As usual David, that's an awesome addition to your fabulous collection

Q