Titus Gold Aureus, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114

Monetary Context and Imperial Gold Coinage

Under the Flavian dynasty, the gold aureus maintained its position as the anchor of the Roman imperial monetary hierarchy. Established as a standard denomination of high value since the reforms of Augustus, the aureus was tariffed at twenty-five silver denarii or one hundred brass sestertii. Following the monetary adjustments of Nero in 64 AD, the gold standard had been reduced from forty to forty-five coins per Roman pound (libra), yielding a theoretical mass of approximately 7.28 grams. Vespasian and his sons, Titus and Domitian, adhered closely to this post-Neronian weight standard, utilizing a high level of gold purity that routinely exceeded ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent. Gold aurei rarely circulated in common day-to-day market transactions; instead, they were concentrated within military payrolls, significant imperial bounties (donativa), elite savings, state contracting, and large-scale administrative disbursements. The striking of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114 occurred during a critical fiscal and political moment in the Flavian administration. Having ascended as sole Augustus following the death of Vespasian in June of 79 AD, Titus sought to consolidate popular and senatorial goodwill in the capital, particularly amidst significant crises that included the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and a devastating three-day fire in Rome in 80 AD. Imperial gold emissions during this phase communicated institutional stability, royal benevolence, and the continuation of grand dynastic projects.

Production Standards and the Mint of Rome

The entire issue of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114 was produced by the central imperial mint at Rome (moneta). By 80 AD, provincial gold striking for the Flavians in the western provinces, such as the mints active during the civil wars at Lugdunum or in Hispania, had ceased, concentrating all gold coinage at the imperial capital. The mint of Rome operated under rigorous quality control overseen by imperial officials (the procurator monetae and familia monetalis). Gold flans were cast individually in open molds or pre-weighed clay spherical pellets, then carefully adjusted with balance scales to meet the standard weight tolerances before striking. Coin blanks were heated to soften the metal before being placed between hardened bronze or iron dies and struck by hand with a heavy hammer. Dies for gold aurei received exceptional attention from the premier die-engravers (scalptores), yielding crisply executed lettering, fine portrait modeling, and intricate reverse details. The die axis for Flavian Rome issues was predominantly set at six o'clock (inverted alignment) or occasionally twelve o'clock (parallel alignment), reflecting the disciplined, mechanical orientation practiced by mint technicians in Rome during the late first century AD.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114 bears the laureate head of Titus facing right. Flavian portraiture on imperial coinage evolved deliberately from the severe, veristic realism of Vespasian toward an idealized yet recognizable naturalism under Titus. The engravers at the Rome mint captured Titus with a fleshy countenance, broad jawline, and compact features reminiscent of his father, but softened his profile with youthful vigor and an expression of serene imperial majesty. The laurel wreath (corona triumphalis) encircles his cropped curls, with its ribbons (taeniae) falling behind his neck, referencing military victory and religious protection. Engravers carefully modulated the relief to prevent premature die wear while conveying fine texture across the facial contours, ear anatomy, and laurel leaves. The portrait is framed by a continuous circular legend running clockwise from the lower left, enclosed by an exterior border of uniform dots (beaded border).

Reverse Design: The Cuirassed Elephant

The reverse iconography depicts an elephant walking toward the left, outfitted in an elaborate cuirass or defensive armor. The animal is rendered with distinctive anatomical details, including a curved trunk, elongated tusks, and patterned skin. The cuirass or protective harness covering its broad torso is rendered by Rome die-engravers with a cross-hatched or scale-patterned texture, often interpreted as metal scale armor (lorica squamata), studded boiled leather, or an ornate netting caparison designed for arena warfare or ceremonial processions. In Roman visual culture, the elephant carried rich symbolic associations: it was an emblem of strength, eternity, and triumph, previously invoked on Roman coinage by Julius Caesar and during the games of earlier emperors. In the context of 80 AD, this imagery possessed an immediate, tangible resonance for the Roman public. In the summer of that year, Titus dedicated the completed Flavian Amphitheater, hosting a hundred consecutive days of inaugural games featuring gladiatorial combats, aquatic re-enactments, and the slaughter or display of thousands of exotic wild beasts from across Africa and Asia. The cuirassed elephant on this aureus served as an official visual commemoration of these games, immortalizing the imperial games and celebrating Rome's dominion over the natural and geographical frontiers of the empire.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends of this aureus follow the standard epigraphic formulas of Titus's sole reign, executed in neat, monumental Latin capitals. The obverse legend reads IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, an abbreviation for Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus. This inscription integrates the imperial praenomen of imperator, Titus's hereditary Caesarean identity, his father's dynastic name, the venerable title Augustus, and the office of chief priest (Pontifex Maximus), asserting full constitutional and religious authority. The reverse inscription reads TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, expanding to Tribunicia Potestate IX, Imperator XV, Consul VIII, Pater Patriae. This sequence provides exact chronological coordinates: Titus received his ninth tribunician power on July 1, 79 AD, renewing it through June 30, 80 AD; he held his eighth consulship throughout 80 AD (having entered office on January 1 of that year); and his fifteenth imperatorial acclamation was voted in the spring of 80 AD, likely in connection with campaigns in northern Britain under Gnaeus Julius Agricola. The legend concludes with the honorary title Pater Patriae (Father of his Country), underscoring his benevolent stewardship.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the modern classification system of The Roman Imperial Coinage (second edition, 2007), this aureus is designated as RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114. It forms a typological pair with the corresponding silver denarius sharing identical obverse and reverse designs and legends (catalogued as RIC II, Part 1 Titus 115). Because the reverse inscription records COS VIII and IMP XV alongside TR P IX, the issue is securely datable to the mid-portion of 80 AD, after Titus's fifteenth acclamation but prior to his sixteenth acclamation and tenth tribunician term later in the year. Within the broader Flavian sequence, this type is grouped among the 'pulvinar' and inaugural games series struck during the dedication year of the Colosseum. While neighboring types feature divine couches (pulvinaria) of the gods, curule chairs, and wreaths, the elephant type stands out as a direct depiction of beast spectacles. RIC 114 is specifically restricted to gold aurei struck at Rome featuring the elephant facing left; variations in elephant direction or differing imperatorial acclamation numbers belong to distinct catalogue entries.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Preservation

Due to their high intrinsic value and stability of weight, aurei of the Flavian period circulated widely across the Roman empire and were frequently conserved as long-term stores of wealth. Hoard evidence from Italy, Gaul, Britain, and the Danubian frontiers demonstrates that gold coins of Vespasian and Titus remained in currency throughout the reigns of Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan. However, because Trajan undertook a comprehensive monetary reform in 107 AD that called in, melted down, and re-coined worn pre-Neronian and early imperial gold and silver, many Flavian aurei were removed from active circulation by the early second century AD. Surviving specimens of RIC 114 primarily owe their preservation to deliberate hoarding prior to Trajan's recall or to discovery in peripheral regions where Roman gold was treasured beyond imperial borders. Most extant examples exhibit minor cabinet friction or light wear from limited handling among financial elites, preserving the intricate scale patterns of the elephant armor and the delicate details of the portrait die work.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 235-236, no. 42
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 114. Type record ric.2_1(2).tit.114
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: Vespasian to Domitian (second edition). pp. 206-207, no. 114