David Atherton Posted Wednesday at 08:11 AM · Member Share Posted Wednesday at 08:11 AM (edited) When I think of Italy, ancient history and food are uppermost in my mind. This coin combines both! Titus Æ Sestertius, 21.88g Rome mint, 80-81 AD Obv: IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P P P COS VIII; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: ANNONA AVG; Annona stg. l., with statuette of Aequitas and cornucopiae; to l., modius with corn ears; to r., stern of ship RIC 136 (C). BMC 152. BNC 151. Acquired from eBay, August 2024. Ensuring that the urban plebs were well fed was an important responsibility of the emperor. The reliability of the imperial grain supply from Africa was crucial. This sestertius struck in 80-81 by Titus advertises his commitment, through the auspices of Annona, to generously provide enough bread for the dole. Annona holding a figure of Aequitas, while standing next to a modius full of corn, and with a docked grain ship in the background was explicitly powerful propaganda. The government provided a dole of free grain to around 200,000 citizens in the city. Every pleb had little doubt who to thank for their daily bread and coins like this are one of the reasons why. This fairly common sestertius was struck during Titus’ great issue of bronze in 80-81. Oddly, the reverse lacks the Senatus Consulto decree seen on imperial bronze coins. Perhaps Titus wanted full credit? First Flavian appearance of this reverse design. Slightly rarer than the left facing portrait variety. In hand. Feel free to post any coins dealing with food. As always, thank you for looking! Edited Wednesday at 08:20 AM by David Atherton 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted Wednesday at 11:46 AM · Supporter Share Posted Wednesday at 11:46 AM Great coin with an interesting reverse scene! Here is a different Annona-themed coin: HADRIAN, AD 117-138 AE As (27.50mm, 14.04g, 5h) Struck AD 135. Rome mint Obverse: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head of Hadrian right, drapery on far shoulder Reverse: ANNO-NA AVG, modius with ears of grain and poppy; S C across fields References: RIC II 2378, RCV 3674 Light earthen patina with smoothly worn surfaces. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted Wednesday at 01:08 PM · Member Author Share Posted Wednesday at 01:08 PM 1 hour ago, CPK said: Great coin with an interesting reverse scene! Here is a different Annona-themed coin: HADRIAN, AD 117-138 AE As (27.50mm, 14.04g, 5h) Struck AD 135. Rome mint Obverse: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head of Hadrian right, drapery on far shoulder Reverse: ANNO-NA AVG, modius with ears of grain and poppy; S C across fields References: RIC II 2378, RCV 3674 Light earthen patina with smoothly worn surfaces. That's the kind of coin I like - honest wear and plenty of detail remaining. No tooling either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZ Numismatics Posted Wednesday at 02:00 PM · Member Share Posted Wednesday at 02:00 PM (edited) Super coin to be sure, but I had to chuckle at the Dixieland/Boogie Woogie fusion music on the Youtube. Just why? Lol. Edited Wednesday at 02:00 PM by JAZ Numismatics 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted Wednesday at 02:47 PM · Member Author Share Posted Wednesday at 02:47 PM 45 minutes ago, JAZ Numismatics said: Super coin to be sure, but I had to chuckle at the Dixieland/Boogie Woogie fusion music on the Youtube. Just why? Lol. It's a snippet from the song "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel. A weak pun to be sure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted 12 hours ago · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted 12 hours ago Bread and circuses. Certainly can thank the Flavians for that!!! Nice coin David. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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