RIC 197 Titus

Æ Dupondius, 11.78g
Rome mint, 80-81 AD
Obv: IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P COS VIII; Head of Titus, radiate, bearded, r.
Rev: CONCORDIA AVGVST; S C in exergue; Concordia std. l., with patera and cornucopiae
RIC 197 (C). BMC -. BNC 192.
Acquired from Roman Coin Shop, September 2022.

Titus' bronze issue dated COS VIII is quite large due to the fact he did not renew the consulship in 81 and most likely the coins span both years. Concordia, the personification of harmony, may have been an appropriate propaganda type if there were grumblings from Domitian and his clique of followers. According to Suetonius - 'After the death of his father, he (Domitian) hesitated for a long time whether he should offer the soldiery a double bounty and he never had any hesitation in stating that he had been left as a partner in the imperial position but that fraud had been applied to the will.' (Suet., Dom., 2) The rumours surrounding Domitian's sour grapes towards Titus could be post Domitianic backlash against the hated tyrant, but the coins may provide contemporary evidence that all was not well between the two siblings. The Concordia type was struck in several variants, this one with the full spelling of 'Concordia' is the most common. Missing from the BM.

Luckily for me a mint worker nearly 2000 years neglected to change out a worn die and kept using it beyond its natural usefulness. The results of that 'Friday afternoon' decision is a coin with a fairly decent obverse and a mushy reverse ... and a bargain for me!