Titus Caesar, 69 – 79 Aureus 74, AV 20mm., 7.21g. T CAESAR IMP – VESP CEN Laureate head r. Rev. PAX – AVG Pax standing l., leaning on cippus, holding branch in extended r. hand over lighted tripod and winged caduceus in l. RIC Vespasian 168a. BMC Vespasian 110. C 131. CBN Vespasian 93. Vagi 983. Calicó 744.

Edge marks, possibly traces of mounting; otherwise Very Fine.

For someone who died at the relatively early age of 41, Titus accomplished a great amount in a short period. Even from a young age, when he counted Britannicus, the ill-fated son of Claudius, among his best friends, Titus was recognized as having potential. Suetonius (Titus 2) tells us that "…when one day Claudius’ freedman Narcissus called in a physiognomist to examine Britannicus’ features and prophesy his future, he was told most emphatically that Britannicus would never succeed his father, whereas Titus (who happened to be present) would achieve that distinction". Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the siege of Jerusalem in the First Jewish Revolt, a remarkable task of engineering genius and perseverance that he orchestrated personally. Upon returning to Rome his contributions to the empire were not quite so spectacular, but were even more valuable. For nearly a decade before he became emperor in 79, Titus was the backbone of his father’s administration. When he became emperor his popularity rose, and though he was privileged to dedicate the Colosseum, he also had to deal with the terrible consequences from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This aureus was struck in 73, just about the time Rome had begun to return to its prosperous self. As such the reverse type echoes the very real accomplishment of Vespasian and Titus: the re-establishment of peace after the civil war that brought them to power. In addition, winning bids of EEC clients for this coin are subject to a 5% fee on hammer price as a reimbursement for import duty paid to HMRC.