Jump to content

Acquired for the Portrait


Recommended Posts

I really like the stylish portrait of Titus Caesar on this rare as struck in 77-78 AD. Although the bronze coinage output dwindled as Vespasian's reign rolled along, the coins themselves became more refined and, dare I say, more 'Flavian' than those of previous issues. The peaks and valleys of the early years was gone, replaced by refined craftsmanship. I think this as is a splendid example of such.

 

 

V1031a.jpg.8a7b292ddec95a374888386acf7cbb89.jpg
Titus as Caesar [Vespasian]
Æ As, 10.74g
Rome mint, 77-78 AD
Obv: T CAESAR VESPASIANVS TR P COS VI; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: S C in field; Spes stg. l., with flower
RIC 1031 (R). BMC -. BNC 784.
Acquired from CGB, March 2024.

Spes, the goddess of hope, is seen here as an 'heir apparent' type. She is represented on Roman coins as a young girl, reminiscent of earlier Greek cult statues depicting Elpis. H. Mattingly in BMCRE II says 'the flower held by Spes is an opening bud, she is raising her skirt in order to hasten forward'. Spes occurs quite commonly under Vespasian and is frequently paired up with all three Flavians as a hopeful expression of future dynastic success. This variety struck for Titus Caesar in 77-78 is quite scarce and is much more common from the Lugdunum mint. Missing from the BM.

In hand.

 

Thanks for looking!

  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...