Titus AR Denarius 75 CE

Titus as Caesar 75 CE

AR Denarius

20 mm 3.30 g

Obv: Head laureate r; T CAESAR IMP VESPASIAN

Rev: Securitas seated l; head resting on raised arm; PONTIF TR P COS IIII

Ric 784 (R2) [Vespasian] BMC--, RSC--

Purchased from Zurqieh on vcoins; April 18, 2019

This denarius was issued for Titus as Caesar under Vespasian in 75 CE. This coin has several notable features including its rarity, its condition, and its interesting reverse.

I like collecting rarities from the first century CE and this one is no exception. It is very rare. OCRE has it listed but cites no examples. There are no examples on Coryssa or on Acsearch. there is also no plate for this coin in RIC. RIC cites one example sold by Lanz in 1999. I also like this coin because it is quite well preserved. Please notice the nice dark toning and the high relief on the portrait. As for the reverse, this is where the coin gets very interesting. The figure on the reverse is not Pax but is Securitas instead. If you looked at 100 of these coins all would be pax except for a very small percentage. In fact, when these Securitas reverse types do appear they are often misattributed as Pax denarii. This type also exists for Vespasian (RIC 774). I am still trying to find one of those.

I am very happy to be able to add this one to my collection.