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Denarius - Domitian COS XIIII, Minerva
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 88 |
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| Currency | Denarius, Reform of Augustus (27 BC – AD 215) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate bust of Domitian facing right, with finely rendered hair beneath the laurel wreath and a slight drapery visible at the shoulder truncation. The emperor's portrait displays the characteristic Flavian physiognomy with a strong jawline and prominent nose. The encircling legend runs clockwise from the lower left, rendered in well-spaced Roman capitals against a smooth, slightly convex field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Domitian's fourteenth consulship fell in 88 AD, the same year he presided over the Ludi Saeculares — the Secular Games, held every 110 years to mark the completion of an age. The timing was almost certainly deliberate political theatre, as Domitian had manipulated the calculation of the saeculum to ensure the games fell within his reign rather than his successor's. The consulship dating on this issue therefore places it within one of the most heavily staged years of his principate.
Minerva was Domitian's personal patron deity, and her presence across his coinage is unusually consistent even by imperial standards. Suetonius notes he maintained a special chapel to her in his palace.