DR-247 | Crawford: 294/1
Titus Didius
Titus Didius

Gens: Didia
Moneyer: Titus Didius
Date and mint: 113 BC/112 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Roma with helmet, right. Dotted border.
Legend: ROMA
Symbols: Obverse below, x

Reverse: Battle between gladiator armed with a whip and gladiator armed with a staff. Dotted border.
Legend: T DEIDI

Comment: The Didia gens was a commoner family that left its mark on political and legislative history. A prominent member was Sextus Didius, tribune of the plebs in 100 BC, who promulgated the Lex Didia, a law limiting luxury in banquets and extravagant spending. Tito Didio also stands out, important in the political and military sphere.

Titus Didius held various positions, including quaestor and praetor, before reaching the consulship in 98 BC. After his term as consul, he was sent to Hispania Citerior as proconsul, where he quelled a Celtiberian rebellion, pacifying the region and cementing his reputation as a competent military leader.

In the years 113–112 BC, Roma was experiencing a period of territorial expansion and internal consolidation. Conflicts such as the campaigns in Hispania and the threat of the Cimbri underlined the growing military importance of the Republic. At the same time, political and social tensions were beginning to develop that would foreshadow the popular struggles of the following decades.

The reverse shows a combat scene between two figures, one armed with a whip and the other with a staff. This scene can have various interpretations: it could refer to the funerary munera, where gladiators fought in honor of the deceased, but it could also be related to some type of public celebration organized by Titus Didius or even allude to an ancestor who exercised military discipline or punishment. Images on Roman coins often had multiple symbolic meanings, and this scene is an example of that. The legend 'T DEIDI' identifies Tito Didio as the person responsible for the broadcast.

Provenance: Bertolami Fine Arts (2020)
Price: 4,395 €