Watch List notes:

Titus. Sestertius; Titus; 79-81 AD, Rome, 80-1 AD, Sestertius, 25.72g. RIC-149 (C); Paris-157, pl. LXXVIII; BM-165; C-110 (20 Fr.). Obv: IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P P P COS VIII Head laureate l. Rx: IVD - CAP across field, S C in exergue, mourning Jewess and captive Jew on either side of palm tree among captured arms; the Jewess sits l. above helmet, oblong shield, and oval shield, and supports head with r. arm; the Jew, with hands tied behind back, stands r., head l., l. leg bent, oblong shield and helmet to r. Ex Stack's, 1 May 1980, Frederick S. Knobloch Collection, lot 457 (color plate and also half page box in text with black and white illustration); ex Ars Classica XVI, 3 July 1933, lot 1621 (illustration from pl. 61 reproduced here). Literature: This coin illustrated in Michael Grant, The Visible Past: An Archaeological Reinterpretation of Ancient History, New York, 1990, Figure 7.3b. It will be a plate coin in David Hendin's upcoming next edition of his standard work on Jewish coins, being the best example of this coin type that he could findThis magnificent Judaea Capta sestertius was struck in 80/81 AD, ten years after the Flavian victory over Judaea BUT the same year that the Colosseum was completed in Rome. This coin was apparently issued as a commemoration of the victory that, by means of the spoils from the Jewish temple, supplied the funds to construct this world famous amphitheater and tell the public of the emperor TITUS's victory. This coin is surely one of the finest specimens known. Researching the first fifty years of the twentieth century in European sales we could find none equal. To illustrate this type in his book The Visible Past (1990), Fig. 7.3b, Michael Grant chose the Ars Classica photograph of our very coin. Grant must have though very well of it. Most specimens are only fine or worse. In the 1980 Fred Knobloch sale this coin brought a hammer price of $6000 over an estimate of $3500, and was given "all-star" treatment: a boxed entry with photograph in the text, with description 'A Superb "Judaea Capta" Sestertius of Titus. Extremely Fine and choice. A stunning coin'; and illustration on Color Plate D. It is a bit entertaining that the sale was exactly 1900 years after the minting of the coin. In addition to its scarcity the reverse type of this sestertius is beautifully designed, making it the finest sestertius of the Romans celebrating their most famous Roman conquest. For anyone who obtains this coin, it will be a stunning addition to any serous collection as demonstrated by the important collectors and authors who have chosen this very coin. This coin unlike many Judea Capta sestertius is totally untouched. Extremely Fine $20,000 . EF