The Restoration coinage of Titus, Domitian & Nerva

Titus Restoration of Claudius Sestertius
Plus information relating to the Restoration coinage of Titus, Domitian & Nerva

RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 99 41-50 AD, (36mm, 25.3gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP
Reverse depiction: Personification of Spes
holding flower in right hand and raising skirt with left hand
Inscription clockwise from bottom: SPES AVGVSTA - S C (exergue)


SESTERTIUS - CLAUDIUS/TITUS RESTORATION/RESTITUTION ISSUE
RIC Volume II (1962 Edition), Rome, Titus, No. 234
RIC Volume II, Part 1 (second edition), Titus, No. 472 (Sear No. 2601)
80-81 AD, (34.5mm, 24.3gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP PP
Reverse depiction: Personification of Spes
holding flower in right hand and raising skirt with left hand
Inscription: IMP T VESP AVG REST - S C (left and right)
Titus was a Military Tribune in Britain AD 60-63

Sear Roman Coins and their Values (RCV 2000 Edition) Number 2601 (via Wildwinds)

Sale: CNG, Triton XII, Lot: 555 (5 January 2009)

Provenance: Ex Dr. V.J.A. Flynn Collection

The Restoration/Restitution coinage of Titus, Domitian & Nerva
Both Restoration and Restitution are employed by modern day authors to describe this coinage

Upon assuming the purple, Vespasian adopted a policy of honoring illustrious members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and other worthy deceased Augusti and their family members, by issuing several commemorative coin types in their memory. Commemoration of the illustrious dead on coins originated during the later Republic and became an integral part of the legacy of deified Emperors.

When he was elevated to Augustus, Titus perpetuated his father's policy of honoring the illustrious dead, by issuing commemorative coinage in a like manner. However, he now also began issuing coins that were struck from newly made dies designed to produce coins that closely resembled original coin types of the honorees. He included the reverse legend IMP T VESP AVG REST (or RESTITVIT) which roughly equates to "The Emperor Titus, son of Vespasian, is the restorer of this coin".

Only Aes coins - As, Dupondius and Sestertius - were restored. It was essentially Senatorial coinage yet was issued by Titus. Under Vespasian he alone determined the style and content of the commemmorative coinage. Titus, however, sought input from the Senate in the design and content of the restoration coinage. It must have been important to him to have the two main powers of the State combine to honor the illustrious dead in this fashion and co-operation was reinforced by the striking of "Aes" coins bearing the usual Senatorial S C (Senatus Consulto) together with the "Restoration" legend of the Emperor. Of course, the Emperor was the supreme authority, and the Senate was subservient to him, but the traditional Senatorial control of the "Aes" coinage still had some relevance.

The Emperor and the Senate, acting together, selected the deceased Augusti and family members they deemed worthy of being honored by the issuance of Restored coinage - a kind of official judgment of their records. Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Galba - and selected family members - were included. Caligula, Nero, Otho, Vitellius - and their family members were excluded. Titus issue Restoration coinage was produced during the the years AD 80-81.

The Restoration coinage of Domitian in general followed that of Titus, but the output was much lighter and appears to be restricted to a short period at the beginning of his reign.

The Restoration coinage of Nerva is very different for it only includes two honorees: Divus Augustus and Agrippina senior.

Primary reference: THE "RESTORED" COINS OF TITUS, DOMITIAN, AND NERVA by Harold Mattingly: The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society
Fourth Series, Vol. 20 (1920), pp. 177-207

Trajan's Restoration coinage was based on different criteria and he issued it in bronze, silver and gold. He also issued this coinage to honor Distinguished Republican families. There is some very interesting information relating to the Restoration/Restitution coinage of Trajan in this CNG listing. Note especially the Curtis Clay Commentary.

 

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Great post as usual James. You have sparked my interest in these issues.

 

Thanks for the engrossing thread @jamesicus and some really nice coins there.

 

Thank you @Orfew. I did a quick check on Vcoins - There were several Titus Restoration As and Dupondius listings; just a few Domitian As and Dupondius listings and only two Nerva As listings - no Dupondius listing. That is just about what I expected and reflects the coinage production. I didn’t check Sestertius listings.

 

Thank you @ancient coin hunter on both counts.

 

Does anyone have any Restoration coins to post? I would greatly appreciate any pics.

 

My Nerva as has been posted here many times before.

 

I did a quick check of Vcoins Sestertii:
Two fairly nice Titus Restorations of Claudius - reasonably priced IMO.
One very nice Titus Restoration of Augustus - pretty pricey IMO
One very nice Nerva Restoration of Augustus - very pricey IMO

No listings for Domitian Restoration Sestertii.

 

But I do like it - great patina! Thanks.

 

Dupondius; Restitution issue under Nerva; Rome, 97 - 98 AD
26.5 x 27 mm, 10.84 g;
Obverse: DIVVS AVGVSTVS radiate head of Augustus r.
Reverse: IMP NERVA CAES AVG REST Globe with rudder in front, S C
Ref.: RIC II Nerva 131;

 

and a very worn one:
Sestertius, Rome 97- 98 AD; 33 x 34 mm, 24.87 g;
Obverse: DIVVS AVGVSTVS laureate head of Divus Augustus r., with features of Nerva
Reverse: (IMP NERVA CAESAR AVG)VSTVS REST (Imperator Nerva Caesar Augustus Restituit) around large S C

 

Thank you for posting that @cmezner. There do not seem to be many of these Augustus “Globe with rudder” Restoration coins of Nerva available now. Very nice!

 

It has been my experience that Nerva Restored Sestertii of Divus Augustus are very hard to find these days. Thank you for posting that pic.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. Both are quite worn, they must have been used a lot... but even worn, I think one can appreciate a magnificent portrait of Augustus, particularly on the second one.
I also have a Victory restitution issue struck under Titus, will post it when I take a picture.

 

I am particularly looking forward to the pic of your Victory Restitution Coin @cmezner.

 

Will do. The coins I have already attributed are in a bank safe, were I think they are secure:-? Have to go and take it out.

 

Apologies for taking so long - the easy part was getting it from the safe deposit box. The hard part was making pictures.

The coin is very dark, so tried with natural light during the mornings on many days. Some days it was raining, couldn't take pictures.... The reverse is quite worn and I used some software effects trying to show the lettering, that is why I am posting more than one picture of the reverse. The first and second pictures are without sw effects. Maybe the admin can delete at some point the ones with sw effects.

27 mm, 12.61 g; Rome,80-81 AD
Reference: RIC II Titus 446;Sear 2580; Cohen 557;
Obverse: DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER radiate head left, star above
Reverse: IMP T VESP AVG REST Victory, draped, advancing left, carrying in right hand shield inscribed S P Q R; S-C across fields.

 

Thank you for posting those excellent images @cmezner - getting the desired effects while photographing dark coins is challenging for sure. And that is a very nice Restored “Victory” Coin - you don’t run across those very often - congratulations.

Note added via Edit:

The first Claudian sestertius depicted below is a regular issue coin included for comparison with the Titus Restoration coin.

I was using the seller’s image of my Titus Restoration Claudius sestertius (with permission until I could take my own photo). Here is my photo - not any better than the seller’s - but I use my own photos on my web pages, and I like black backgrounds:



AE SESTERTIUS ISSUED BY CLAUDIUS
BMCRE Volume I, Rome, Claudius, No. 124
RIC Volume I, Rome, Claudius No. 99
41-50 AD, (36mm, 25.3gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP
Reverse depiction: Personification of Spes
holding flower in right hand and demurely raising skirt with left hand
Inscription clockwise from bottom: SPES AVGVSTA - S C (exergue)


AE SESTERTIUS - CLAUDIUS/TITUS RESTORATION/RESTITUTION ISSUE
BMCRE Volume II, Rome, Titus No. 297
RIC Volume II (1962 Edition), Rome, Titus, No. 234
RIC Volume II, Part 1 (second edition), Titus, No. 472 (Sear No. 2601)
80-81 AD, (34.5mm, 24.3gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP PP
Reverse depiction: Personification of Spes
holding flower in right hand and demurely raising skirt with left hand
Inscription: IMP T VESP AVG REST - S C (left and right)
Titus was a Military Tribune in Britain AD 60-63

 

Thank you very much for your kind comment maybe I am improving my photography skill a little bit. I think black backgrounds are great for light-colored coins, but maybe for dark coins there is no contrast :?

Both of your Claudius/Titus restoration coins are superb! The youthful head of Claudius on the second one is very special and Spes raising her skirt is just perfect. Congratulations to you too !!

Since there is no T VESP on the first coin, how can one tell that it is a Titus Restoration Claudius sestertius ?

 

You are most welcome! I apologize for the confusion. I should have added a note saying that the first depicted coin is a regular Claudius issue included for comparison purposes. I will attempt to rectify that now via Edit.
.