Titus Gold Aureus, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 106

Monetary Context

The reign of Titus (79 to 81 AD) was characterized by significant state expenditures, including the completion and lavish hundred-day inaugural games of the Colosseum, extensive rebuilding after the fire of Rome in 80 AD, and disaster relief following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in late 79 AD. Gold coinage formed the highest tier of the Roman tri-metallic monetary system, serving as the primary vehicle for high-level military pay, diplomatic distributions, and elite commercial transactions. The aureus catalogue type RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 106 was produced within this fiscal climate, providing portable, universally recognized bullion of high purity. The Flavian administration maintained the weight reduction instituted during Nero's reform of 64 AD, fixing the theoretical weight of the aureus at approximately 1/45 of a Roman pound (around 7.25 to 7.35 grams of fine gold). By issuing gold issues bearing imagery shared with the silver denarius, the imperial government communicated institutional continuity, civic dignity, and religious piety to audiences throughout the empire.

Production and Mints

By 80 AD, the centralized mint in the city of Rome was the sole operational facility striking imperial gold for the emperor Titus, as earlier Western and provincial branch mints active during the civil wars and early reign of Vespasian had ceased precious-metal output. Production of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 106 took place under the supervision of imperial officials who maintained rigorous quality control over gold fineness and blank preparation. Flans were cast in individual moulds and struck hot between engraved bronze or iron dies. Die carving in Rome during this phase was executed by skilled engravers capable of rendering crisp portraiture and balanced reverse details. Analysis of Flavian die linkages indicates that reverse dies of the curule chair design were employed alongside complementary obverse dies bearing standard imperial titling, reflecting a well-organized batch-production system.

Obverse Design

The obverse features the laureate head of Titus facing to the right. Rendered in the realistic, sober portrait tradition revived under the Flavian dynasty, the likeness depicts Titus with a broad facial structure, a short neck, and closely cropped hair bound by a laurel wreath tied behind the nape with dangling ribbons. Engravers maintained strong physical fidelity while infusing the portrait with imperial dignity, distinguishing Titus from his father Vespasian through subtle nuances in jawline and brow. The portrait occupies the central field within a neat border of dots, surrounded by the peripheral inscription. The die work demonstrates the high artistic competence typical of the primary urban mint of Rome in the early 80s AD.

Reverse Design

The reverse iconography centers on a sella curulis (curule chair) seen in three-quarter perspective or frontally, positioned across the lower field. The curule chair was the traditional backless, folding ivory seat reserved for senior Roman magistrates possessing imperium, including consuls, praetors, and the princeps himself. Directly above the seat rests a circular wreath, usually interpreted as a corona triumphalis or laurel garland. In classical numismatic literature, this image has often been categorized within the lectisternium or pulvinar series, representing sacred seats prepared for deities or deceased deified emperors during public feasts and games. Alternatively, it represents the ceremonial chair of state adorned with a wreath in honour of the emperor's consulship and ongoing civic benefactions following the crises of 79 and 80 AD. The careful balance between the physical seat, the hovering wreath, and the flanking legend reinforces the constitutional legitimacy of Titus's rule.

Epigraphy and Legends

The obverse legend reads IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, running clockwise from the lower left. In full epigraphic expansion, it translates as Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus. This concise imperial style captures his status as supreme military commander (Imperator), his membership in the imperial family (Caesar Vespasianus), his Augustan authority (Augustus), and his role as chief priest of the state religion (Pontifex Maximus). The reverse inscription reads TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, expanding to Tribunicia Potestate nonum, Imperator quintum decimum, Consul octavum, Pater Patriae. This sequence records Titus holding the tribunician power for the ninth time, receiving his fifteenth military salutation, serving his eighth ordinary consulship, and bearing the title Father of his Country. The lettering is regular, cleanly cut, and punctuated by small circular dots or spaces between formulaic elements.

Typology and Chronology

The precise titling on RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 106 fixes its production securely to the year 80 AD. Titus entered his eighth consulship (COS VIII) on January 1, 80 AD, alongside his brother Domitian (COS VII). His ninth renewal of tribunician power (TR P IX) had occurred on July 1, 79 AD, and extended through June 30, 80 AD, after which he assumed TR P X. His fifteenth imperial acclamation (IMP XV) was celebrated in late 79 or early 80 AD, likely connected with the northern campaigns of Gnaeus Julius Agricola in Roman Britain. Consequently, this aureus type can be placed in the first half of 80 AD, before the assumption of TR P X. Within the updated typology of RIC II.1 (2007), type 106 is categorized as a gold aureus parallel to silver denarii bearing identical legends and reverse iconography, demonstrating the synchronized operation of the Rome precious-metal officinae.

Circulation and Monetary Life

Gold aurei of Titus circulated as premier store-of-value instruments throughout the Roman world, frequently moving between Italy, the Rhine-Danube military frontier, and affluent provincial commercial centers. Because of their high purchasing power, individual aurei changed hands far less frequently than bronze or silver denominations, resulting in comparatively slower wear rates. Hoard evidence from western Europe and the Mediterranean shows that aurei of Titus remained in active monetary circulation for decades, often appearing alongside coins of Vespasian, Domitian, and the Trajanic era until the sweeping gold re-minting programs of the second century AD gradually removed older Flavian pieces from circulation. In modern collections, surviving specimens of RIC 106 exhibit varying degrees of preservation, reflecting their passage through public treasuries, bank deposits, and long-term buried hoards.

References

1. Studies in the Flavian Coinage. Numismatic Chronicle, Seventh Series, Vol. 16, pp. 85-104
2. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96. BAR International Series 178, pp. 9-25
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 232-234
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1: Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69-96). p. 206, no. 106