Description
Roman Empire. Julia Titi, daughter of Titus. Denarius 80-81, Rome. Silver 2.97 g.; 22 mm.
Obverse: Bust of Julia Titi, draped and diademed, right; hair in long plait. Obverse caption: IVLIA AVGVSTA TITI AVGVSTI F • //
Reverse: Venus, naked to waist, standing right, resting left elbow on column and holding crested helmet in right and long transverse scepter with her left hand. Reverse caption: VENVS AVGVST
RIC: 388.
A superb example with a lovely, slightly iridescent cabinet patina! The minting is off-center and weak, but that doesn't prevent the details from showing through, notably Julia Titi's complex hairstyle and Venus, who could be described as callipygous. Almost uncirculated AU 55-58
Comment
Julia Titi was the daughter of Titus, emperor of the Flavian dynasty between 79 and 81, and wife of Titus Flavius Sabinus, her father's grand-cousin and consul in 82.
She died in 91 and was accorded divine honours. Coins bearing her effigy were minted during the reigns of her father and then her uncle Domitian, whom history records as having had a relationship with her. She is mostly associated with goddesses such as Vesta, Ceres and Venus, and with personifications of virtues associated with women.
The representation of Venus on the reverse is in keeping with the iconographic continuity of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, whose members claimed to be descendants of the goddess. This link is all the more important as it is a means of propaganda, of inscribing Titus and Domitian in time and of legitimizing them. This period also saw an increase in the number of female members of the imperial family depicted on coins, as well as their complete and lasting integration into imperial coinage.
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