Lot 3136
Titus. Silver Denarius (3.42 g), AD 79-81. Rome, AD 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head of Titus right sporting slight beard. Reverse : TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, laurel wreath set on double curule chairs. RIC 108; BMC 66-9; RSC 318. Boldly struck on a large flan and perfectly centered, lightly toned. Superb Extremely Fine.
This coin was struck after a very unfortunate year for Rome, AD 79, which first saw the death of the Emperor Vespasian, followed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius with the resultant destruction of two major towns and the deaths of approximately 16,000 people, then a great fire that destroyed much of the monumental center of Rome, and finally plague which swept through the city, killing many thousands. In order to atone for any sacrilege, the Senate decreed a sellisternium, a ritual banquet for Roman goddesses and attended by their effigies placed on chairs or benches. The reverse type alludes to this event, with the laurel wreath representing the supremacy of the divine pantheon.
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,300.
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| Realized $2,585 |
