Titus Æ Eastern Mule

[David Atherton]

A couple of weeks ago I shared a Vespasian mule from the Rome mint 'Eastern' series. 

 

Funnily enough, one of my most recent auction wins is the flip side of the coin, so to speak - a Titus mule from the same issue.

 

Titus as Caesar [Vespasian] Mule

Æ Quadrans, 3.02g
Rome mint, 74 AD
Obv: T CAESAR IMP; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: P M TR POT P P; Winged caduceus
RIC 1577 (R2). BMC -. BNC -. RPC 2000 (0 spec.).
Ex Savoca Blue 157, 26 February 2023, lot 932.

A mule from the Rome mint's 'Eastern series' combining a Titus Caesar obverse with a reverse intended for Vespasian. Although extremely rare, a sufficient number of these mules survived antiquity to warrant their own RIC catalogue number. Traditionally the issue has been attributed to various Eastern mints, however, recent scholarship has shown that it was produced in Rome. Style, die axis, metal, and circulation pattern all point to a Western coinage, despite the 'Eastern' flavour of the reverse designs. T. Buttrey in the RIC II.1 Addenda wrote: 'There is nothing like this series in the whole of Roman imperial coinage. It is a deliberate act of Orientalism, imposing the flavour of the East on a Western coinage'. Missing from both the BM and Paris collections.

 

And here it is in hand.

 

 

Again, thank you for looking and watching the video!

Edited March 8, 2023 by David Atherton

[CPK]

Nice little coin and a nice compliment to your recent Vespasian of the reverse type! 👍

[Jay GT4]

Sweet!