Titus AR Denarius 79 CE After July 1

Titus AR Denarius

(18mm, 3.26g, 6h). Rome, AD 79 after July 1.

Obv: Laureate head l.

Rev: Jewish captive kneeling r. before trophy.

RIC II 50; RSC 297.

Ex: Bertolami Fine arts E Live Auction 38 Lot 610 December 11, 2016

Ex: Artemide Aste E Live Auction 11 Lot 362 January 26, 2020

This coin is interesting for several reasons. First, it is a left-facing bust of Titus as Augustus. Not all left-facing denarii of Titus are rare but this one is. The reverse is also of note. It features a trophy and under it is a captive. Some believe this may be a reference to the conquest of Judea and is therefore a Ivdea Capta type. Others believe it refers to other conflicts. In particular some argue that it refers to Agricola's successes in Britain. Whatever the intended meaning, this reverse was used several times early in the reign of Titus. However, this was not the only appearance of this reverse. It was also issued for Titus as Caesar under the rule of Vespasian.

The other thing that caught my attention was the toning. In my opinion the toning makes the coin very attractive. I also like that the obverse is fairly well centred.

While I have been adding many coins of Domitian lately, I could not pass up the chance to own this interesting coin.