Titus struck this issue in his own name during the final months of Vespasian's life, when he already held tribunician power and was effectively co-emperor. The year 79 is crowded with event: Vespasian died in June, Vesuvius erupted in August, and Titus found himself managing both an imperial succession and a catastrophe within weeks of sole accession. Whether sestertii bearing the Spes type were struck before or after Vespasian's death on June 23rd remains a matter of scholarly debate, as the mint chronology for that transitional period is not cleanly resolved.
Titus struck this issue in his own name during the final months of Vespasian's life, when he already held tribunician power and was effectively co-emperor. The year 79 is crowded with event: Vespasian died in June, Vesuvius erupted in August, and Titus found himself managing both an imperial succession and a catastrophe within weeks of sole accession. Whether sestertii bearing the Spes type were struck before or after Vespasian's death on June 23rd remains a matter of scholarly debate, as the mint chronology for that transitional period is not cleanly resolved.