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Naval Victory

496982. Sold For $2500

Titus. As Caesar, AD 69-79. Æ As (27.5mm, 11.18 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Vespasian, AD 77-78. T CAESAR VESPASIANVS TR P COS VI, laureate head right / VICTORIA AVGVST, Victory standing right on prow, holding palm frond over shoulder and wreath; S C flanking. RIC II 1035 (Vespasian); Hendin, p. 412. Near EF, attractive green patina, a few faint scratches on reverse. Well centered and deeply struck, with a handsome portrait in high relief.


Ex Gasvoda Collection; Gemini IV (8 January 2008), lot 409; Numismatic Fine Arts XX (9 March 1988), lot 149; Numismatic Fine Arts XII (23 March 1983), lot 227.

The reverse type, depicting Victory on the prow of a ship, is a legend variant of the VICTORIA NAVALIS type struck for both Titus and Vespasian in AD 71-72. This is sometimes attributed as a reference to an obscure victory over Judaean rebels on the Sea of Galilee, mentioned briefly by Flavius Josephus in The Jewish War. Although this interpretation is disputed, there remains no other naval victory on record during the Flavian era.