Titus Silver Denarius, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 25

Monetary Context and Imperial Accession

The issue catalogued as RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 25 was struck in the summer or autumn of AD 79, marking the transition of the Roman Empire from the reign of Vespasian to that of his elder son, Titus. Vespasian died on June 24, AD 79, having already prepared the dynastic succession by elevating Titus to the rank of Caesar and granting him joint tribunician power and imperatorial acclamations during the 70s. However, the death of the dynasty's founder required an immediate, coordinated output from the imperial mint at Rome to proclaim Titus's sole status as Augustus and supreme religious authority as Pontifex Maximus. The denarius served as the core silver denomination of the Roman monetary system, widely distributed among the legions, administrative personnel, and urban populations. Under the Flavians, the silver currency had undergone careful management to restore fiscal stability after the catastrophic civil wars of AD 68 to 69. The silver denarius during Titus's reign continued the metallurgical standard established under Vespasian, struck at a theoretical standard of approximately 96 coins to the Roman pound (libra), yielding an intended weight of around 3.25 to 3.30 grams with a silver fineness hovering between 80 and 85 percent. This specific issue served not only an economic function in paying state debts and military salaries but also a vital communicative purpose, reassuring the Roman world of stability, continuity, and abundant provisioning under the new sovereign.

Production and Mint Organization

Production of this denarius took place entirely at the central mint in the city of Rome. By the beginning of Titus's reign, the decentralized provincial mints in Spain, Gaul, and the East that had produced substantial silver and gold during the civil wars and early consolidation of Vespasian's rule had largely ceased denarius production, centralizing precious-metal coinage at Rome. The mint of Rome operated using a system of distinct officinae, or workshops, staffed by skilled engravers and coiners. Silver flans were cast in open or two-part molds and heated prior to striking between hand-carved intaglio dies of hardened bronze or iron. The obverse die was fixed into an anvil, while the reverse die was set into a handheld punch, which was struck with a heavy hammer. Dies for this issue reflect the high artistic and technical standards of the Flavian capital, exhibiting crisp portrait modelling and delicate detailing of the chariot's basket weave and floral garlands. Die axes for this series are typically oriented near 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock, reflecting the regular mechanical practices of the Flavian mint.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Image

The obverse of RIC Titus 25 displays the mature head of Titus facing right, crowned with a laurel wreath whose ties hang behind his neck. The portraiture is rendered in the characteristic Flavian realistic style, displaying fleshy facial features, a prominent jaw, and deep-set eyes that visually emphasize his physical similarity to his father Vespasian, thereby reinforcing familial legitimacy. The truncation of the neck is plain and unadorned, adhering to the traditional numismatic conventions for silver coinage at Rome. The engraving emphasizes authority and gravitas, presenting an energetic yet composed image of the new emperor. Surrounding the portrait is the uninterrupted circular inscription beginning at the lower left and reading clockwise, framed by a delicate outer border of dots.

Reverse Iconography: The Circensian Chariot

The reverse of the coin bears a distinctive and relatively uncommon numismatic design: a slow four-horse chariot (quadriga) advancing to the left. Rather than a standard military triumphal car, the vehicle is depicted as a rounded, basket-like carriage decorated with hanging floral or vegetative garlands. Within this circular chariot rise three upright, ripe ears of corn (grain). Numismatists and Roman historians interpret this vehicle as a tensa or a ceremonial circensian car (currus circensis), used during public games (ludi) to carry sacred divine attributes or statues of deities in the solemn procession (pompa circensis) into the Circus Maximus. The inclusion of three ears of corn clearly associates the image with the goddess Ceres, the divine patroness of agriculture, grain, and the urban food supply (annona). By choosing this imagery for an early accession issue, Titus explicitly promised abundant food provisioning, imperial generosity, and uninterrupted grain imports to the populace of Rome, connecting his new administration with agricultural fertility and divine favor.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The inscriptions on RIC Titus 25 provide exact epigraphic evidence for dating the emission and understanding the legal titles assumed by Titus upon taking supreme power. The obverse legend reads: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, expanding to Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus. The presence of AVG (Augustus) confirms the coin was struck after Vespasian's death, while P M (Pontifex Maximus) marks Titus's assumption of the high priesthood, a supreme office held by only one individual at a time under the early Empire. The reverse legend reads: TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII P P, which expands to Tribunicia Potestate VIIII, Imperator XIIII, Consul VII, Pater Patriae. The ninth renewal of the tribunician power occurred on July 1, AD 79, following its annual reckoning initiated in AD 71 when Titus first received joint tribunician authority. The title IMP XIIII records his fourteenth acclamation as imperator, while COS VII records his seventh ordinary consulship, held for the year AD 79. The concluding P P (Pater Patriae, Father of His Country) indicates his formal acceptance of this honors title voted by the Senate upon his accession. The legends are rendered in neat Roman serif capitals, punctuated occasionally by subtle interpuncts.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the updated chronology established by Ian Carradice and T.V. Buttrey in the second edition of Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC II.1), this issue is placed securely in the second half of AD 79. The confluence of TR P VIIII and IMP XIIII alongside the sole Augustan title firmly anchors production between July AD 79 and December AD 79, prior to Titus entering his eighth consulship (COS VIII) on January 1, AD 80. RIC Titus 25 is catalogued within the first major substantive issue of silver denarii struck for Titus as Augustus at Rome. It is typologically related to gold aurei bearing identical reverse motifs and legends, forming a coordinated bimetallic pair. While neighboring issues feature traditional personifications such as Pax, Venus, or Ceres herself standing, or emblems of political concord like clasped hands, this tensa type represents a distinctive iconographic type within the Flavian repertory that had predecessors under Vespasian but received fresh prominence to inaugurate Titus's reign.

Circulation, Hoards, and Survival

Denarii of RIC Titus 25 entered circulation throughout the western and Danubian provinces as well as Italy, moving through commercial channels, civilian markets, and military payroll distributions. Because Titus's sole reign was remarkably brief, lasting only twenty-six months from June AD 79 until his sudden death in September AD 81, his individual coin types were struck in smaller overall quantities than those of his father Vespasian or his brother Domitian. Nevertheless, Flavian silver circulated extensively for over a century. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, Germany, and the Danube frontier demonstrates that Titus's denarii remained in active circulation alongside Trajanic and Antonine silver until the Severan period, gradually suffering surface wear and weight loss through prolonged use. When Domitian reformed the coinage in AD 82 and AD 85, he raised the silver fineness above 90 percent, making older Flavian issues like RIC 25 slightly less pure than contemporary currency, yet they were not systematically recalled. Surviving examples today range from worn, circulated specimens to occasional well-preserved pieces showing original mint luster, documenting both the artistic quality of the Rome die cutters and the widespread monetary integration of the early Roman Empire.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume II, Part 1: From AD 69 to AD 96 (Vespasian to Domitian), Second Revised Edition. pp. 195-202
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Volume II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 223-228
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 25. ric.2_1(2).tit.25