Denarius - Domitian IMP VIIII COS XI CENSORIA POTESTAT P P, Minerva

Domitian held the censorship perpetually from 85 AD — an unprecedented concentration of moral and administrative authority that no emperor before him had claimed on a permanent basis. The CENSORIA POTESTAT legend on this issue was not merely titular; it advertised his right to regulate public conduct, expel senators, and revise citizen rolls without term or limit. The Senate's relief at his assassination in 96 AD was sufficient that they ordered a damnatio memoriae, systematically defacing his coinage — survivors in undamaged condition are notably fewer than mintage figures would otherwise predict.