Titus as Caesar Ar Denarius 77-78 CE

Titus. AR Denarius as Caesar, AD 69-79. Rome, under Vespasian, Struck AD 77/8.

(19.04 mm, 3.22 g),

Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESPASIANVS, laureate head of Titus right.

Rev: COS VI, prow of galley right, sides ornameted with intricate cross-hatch and maeander patterns; above, star with sixteen rays. RIC 950 (R); BMC 226; RSC 68. SRCV I (2000) 2441

Ex: Numismatik Naumann Auction 88 Lot 656 April 5 2020.

Ex: Roman coin shop dot com

Now this coin was no bargain but I bought it anyway because I had been looking for a very nice example for about 4 years. I already had one of these and you can see the other one in an earlier post.Who could resist this amazing portrait of Titus. The portrait is very expressive and it almost looks like he has a furrowed brow. The portrait is high relief and looks very much like Vespasian, his father.

However, not is usually the reverse that attires the most attention. This reverse is a throwback to the days of the republic and also to imperatorial times (the time between the days of the republic and the emergence of the empire). Specifically it references a reverse for Marc Antony. Of course the prow was also depicted on many coins in the days of the republic.

This coin is given the R fore rare in RIC and yes it lives up to that billing. These do come up for sale occasionally, but they do not last long because it is such an interesting type. In general coins of Titus are rarer than those of Vespasian and Domitian. This one in particular is also interesting because this type exists for Vespasian as well. This type is not rare for Vespasian and exists with both right and left facing busts,