|
Titus. AD 79-81. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.31 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck 1 January-30 June AD 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head right / TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, elephant, wearing cuirass, walking left on exergual line. RIC II.1 115; RSC 303; BMCRE 43-6; BN 37-9. Lightly toned, faint hairlines. EF.
From the PLZ Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group inventory 841747 (April 2009); Gorny & Mosch 176 (10 March 2009), lot 2212.
This ultra-sharp, nearly perfectly struck coin commemorating the opening of the Colosseum attracted me for the excellent Titus portrait and North African elephant (which sadly became extinct in ancient times) on the reverse. Wonderful in hand. (PLZ)
For the Romans, the elephant represented many different things. Its African origins made it a logical symbol of Africa. Consequently, the personification of Africa was usually represented wearing an elephant’s skin headdress. Its size, strength, and seemingly impervious hide also made it a natural symbol of power, and it appears in that connection on several Republican denarii, including those of Julius Caesar. Because of its longevity, the elephant was a symbol of eternity. As such, elephants were often employed in processions involving cult statues of deities. The issues of Divus Augustus and Divus Vespasian both show their cult statues being conveyed by such animals. Among the menagerie depicted on the Saeculares issues of Philip I is an elephant, as a hoped-for wish for the continued success of empire. Therefore, its presence among some of the earliest issues of the Flavians may express the hope that their dynasty, born as a result of Civil War, would endure long enough to bring a period of peace to the empire.
The elephant depicted here has also a specific and immediate reference. The elephant represents one of the numerous species displayed in the newly constructed Flavian Amphitheater, or Colosseum, built by prisoners of the Jewish War on the site of the Domus Aurea of Nero. Opened to the public during Titus’ rule, in AD 80, and commemorated by Martial in de Spectaculis, the Colosseum was inaugurated with great fanfare and games. During the opening ceremonies a great number of animals, including elephants, were both exhibited and slaughtered. This coin is directly tied to those events and the opening of the Flavian Amphitheater.
This coin must have been minted extensively at the time as it frequently appears at auction. That said, the type must have seen extensive circulation as almost all examples seen today grade “VF” or below. The coin offered here is truly a standout example of the type. The last example we offered (Triton XXVIII, lot 683) that had similar remaining details, but scratched, brought a hammer of $7,000. The present example is far superior and deserves spirited bidding.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
|
