Sestertius - Titus IMP T CAES VESP AVG P M TR P P P COS VIII

Titus held the consulship eight times, but COS VIII places this issue squarely within his brief two-year reign — one of the most disaster-saturated periods in early imperial history. Within months of his accession in 79 AD, Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, a fire devastated Rome over three days, and a plague struck the city immediately after. The sestertius issues of this reign were minted against that relentless backdrop, with Titus personally directing relief efforts and reportedly draining the imperial treasury to fund them.

He died in September 81, before completing his third year in power. Suetonius called it a loss to mankind rather than to Rome alone.