Titus Bronze Sestertius: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 170

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

During the early Flavian era, the monetary system established by Augustus and refined by Nero remained the structural bedrock of Roman imperial finance. Within this multi-tiered trimetallic currency, the sestertius represented the largest base-metal denomination in routine circulation. Valued at one-fourth of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius was historically manufactured from orichalcum, a golden-toned copper-zinc alloy known as brass. Because orichalcum possessed an intrinsic value estimated at approximately double that of unalloyed copper, it allowed the Roman administration to produce substantial, heavy pieces that balanced substantial purchasing power with practical portability. Sestertii regularly facilitated significant urban economic transactions, including commercial wholesale purchases, bulk market trades, property contracts, and tax receipts. Beyond its economic function, the physical dimensions of the denomination, frequently exceeding thirty-four millimeters in diameter and weighing around twenty-five to twenty-eight grams, provided imperial authorities with an exceptionally prominent visual platform. Under Titus, who succeeded Vespasian in June of AD 79, bronze coinage served to project imperial legitimacy, public benevolence, and institutional stability across Italy and the western provinces following a period of natural disasters, including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the devastating fire of Rome.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 170 was produced exclusively at the primary imperial mint in Rome. By the reign of Titus, the centralized mint in the capital had assumed overwhelming responsibility for manufacturing the base-metal coinage of the central empire, following the closure or consolidation of the western provincial branch mints, such as Lugdunum, which had operated extensively under Vespasian. The manufacture of sestertii at Rome demanded considerable technical coordination. Blanks were cast in individual moulds or cut from cast strips of orichalcum, then heated to a malleable state before being manually struck between hand-cut iron or bronze dies. The heavy physical impact required to achieve full relief on broad flans often produced subtle irregularities, such as slightly uneven rims, gentle flan cracking, or variable centering. Flavian sestertii of this period exhibit target weight standards centered roughly between 24 and 28 grams, though individual surviving specimens naturally fluctuate due to alloy composition variances, foundry tolerances, and subsequent chemical corrosion in the burial environment. Die axes for this Rome issue are predominantly aligned at either six o'clock or twelve o'clock, reflecting the regulated alignment techniques maintained by the monetary magistrates and workshop engravers of the urban mint.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of this issue displays the laureate head of Titus facing left. Roman imperial numismatics overwhelmingly favored right-facing portraits; consequently, left-facing depictions represent an intentional and distinctive choice by the workshop celators. The portraiture is rendered in the characteristic Flavian realistic style, blending the stern, veristic maturity inherited from Vespasian with Titus's distinctively fuller facial contours, heavy jawline, and prominent brow. Titus is shown without drapery or cuirass, emphasizing civic authority over overt military stance. The laurel wreath encircling his head rests securely on cropped, wavy hair, with its ribbon ties falling downward along the nape of the neck. The laurel wreath remained a quintessential emblem of victory, divine favor, and triumphal status. Engravers at the Rome mint captured the emperor's features with crisp modeling, presenting an imposing image of executive authority designed to instill confidence in the continuity and resolve of the Flavian principate.

Reverse Iconography of Spes

The reverse iconography of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 170 is devoted to Spes, the Roman personification of Hope. She is depicted standing facing left in a traditional, gracefully poised posture rooted in archaic and classical Greek representations of the walking maiden or kore. In her extended right hand, she holds out a blossom or flower bud, typically identified as a lotus or pomegranate blossom, symbolizing potential, germination, and the blossoming future of the Roman state. With her lowered left hand, she delicately gathers and lifts the hem of her long stola or chiton to ease her forward step, a canonical gesture signaling motion, modesty, and progress. Flanking the lower fields of the figure are the large letters S and C (Senatus Consulto). Unlike many contemporary issues that include an explicit titular legend around the reverse perimeter, this composition leaves the field open around the deity, drawing primary visual focus directly to the personified allegory. In Roman state religion and dynastic ideology, Spes Augusta was intimately connected with imperial succession, the security of the realm, and the promise of upcoming generations, reassuring the public that the imperial lineage offered enduring protection and renewal.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The epigraphic program of this type is concentrated on the obverse perimeter. The obverse legend reads continuously clockwise: IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P P P COS VIII. Broken down into its constituent elements, IMP represents Imperator, the military acclamation serving as a formal praenomen; T CAES designates Titus Caesar; VESP AVG represents Vespasianus Augustus, affirming his imperial name and dynastic descent; P M signifies Pontifex Maximus, marking Titus's position as the supreme head of Roman state religion; TR P abbreviates Tribunicia Potestate, declaring his tribunician authority and role as protector of the plebeians; P P denotes Pater Patriae, Father of the Fatherland, a prestigious civic title granted by the senate; and COS VIII denotes Consul for the eighth time. This cumulative formula represents the standard epigraphic protocol for Titus during the year AD 80 and early 81. The reverse bears no titular or descriptive inscription other than the prominent abbreviation S C, denoting Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). This formula maintained the traditional constitutional arrangement whereby the senate officially sanctioned the production and circulation of base-metal bronze and brass coinage, even while absolute political and administrative control rested with the emperor.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the modernized typology established by Ian Carradice and Theodore V. Buttrey in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC II, Part 1), this specific type is catalogued as number 170 under the reign of Titus. The chronological attribution is closely bracketed between January 1, AD 80, when Titus formally entered his eighth consulship (COS VIII), and his sudden death on September 13, AD 81. While right-facing portrait counterparts form the bulk of the struck sestertii for this reverse type (catalogued as RIC 169), RIC 170 is reserved strictly for those dies pairing the COS VIII obverse legend with the left-facing laureate head and the uncaptioned Spes reverse flanked by S C. The type forms part of a cohesive emissions group at Rome that also featured reverses commemorating the completion of the Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum), public welfare programs, and dynastic stability. The second edition of RIC significantly improved the chronological sequencing of these issues by disaggregating earlier confused hybrid pairings and clarifying the relationship between consulship designations and imperial acclamations.

Circulation, Wear Patterns, and Archaeological Context

Once released from the mint of Rome, sestertii of Titus entered an active and long-lived monetary stream. Because large base-metal coins possessed substantial intrinsic utility and durability, they circulated over extensive geographical distances and for prolonged periods. Archaeological excavations across Roman Britain, Gaul, the Rhine-Danube frontier garrisons, and the Italian peninsula demonstrate that Flavian sestertii frequently remained in circulation for several generations, often persisting in everyday market usage through the Antonine and Severan eras. Consequently, surviving specimens of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 170 frequently exhibit moderate to extensive wear, with the delicate drapery of Spes and the high points of Titus's hair and laurel wreath showing smoothing from decades of manual handling. In regional soil contexts, these orichalcum pieces commonly acquired deep green, brown, or mottled cuprite patinas. Hoard evidence and site finds confirm that although right-facing sestertii predominated in aggregate volume, left-facing varieties circulated indiscriminately alongside them, functioning without distinction as legal tender throughout the western provinces.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMCRE), Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 260-264
2. The Authority to Coin in the Late Republic and Early Empire. Numismatic Chronicle, Vol. 137, pp. 37-63
3. The Roman 'Virtues'. pp. 103-117
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 170. ric.2_1(2).tit.170
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: From AD 69 to 96 (Vespasian to Domitian). p. 206, no. 170