TYPE Roman Empire, Titus (79-81 AD), silver denarius, struck 80 AD DESCRIPTION . Obv: Laureate head to left, Latin legend IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM Rev: Draped throne with winged thunderbolt on top, Latin legend TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII PP REFERENCE: RSC 316 GRADING: F, toned ORDER INFO: R2297, $70 This historically interesting reverse type refers to the "sellisternium" - a special ceremony designed to supplicate the gods and staged by Titus in Rome, following the natural disasters of the first part of Titus' short reign - the eruption of Vesuvius (79 AD) and the great fire and plague in Rome (80 AD). During this elaborate ceremony, tables were laid before images of the gods, with appropriate devices for each one of them; the present one is naturally associated with Jupiter. Notably, it is during this same campaign of uplifting public spirits that the famous Flavian Amphitheater - better known as the Colloseum - was dedicated. Titus' premature death was widely mourned in the Empire.