The Atonement after Vesuvius Erupts
Triton XIV, Lot: 680. Estimate $3000. Sold for $8500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
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Titus. AD 79-81. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.61 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck January-June AD 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head right / TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P,
pulvinar (throne) of Mars and Venus: curule chair, above which is a wreath. RIC II 108; RSC 318; BMCRE 66-9; BN 53; S 2516 var. (this coin illustrated). Superb EF, deep gray cabinet toning. Excellent portrait.
From the C.K. Collection. Ex Dr. John Jacobs Collection (Superior, 13 August 1995), lot 763; Numismatic Fine Arts XX (9 March 1988), lot 155.
This reverse type belongs to the “atonement” coins, issued shortly after the volcanic eruption which destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii.