Struck in Domitian's fourth year as emperor, this denarius falls within a concentrated burst of tribunician and consular titulature updates that make precise dating of his coinage unusually reliable. The COS VIII designation places it firmly in 82 AD, the same year Domitian celebrated a triumph over the Chatti — a campaign whose military legitimacy was mocked by contemporaries, including Pliny the Younger, who noted that the German slaves paraded in the procession had their hair dyed blond to pass as authentic captives.
Struck in Domitian's fourth year as emperor, this denarius falls within a concentrated burst of tribunician and consular titulature updates that make precise dating of his coinage unusually reliable. The COS VIII designation places it firmly in 82 AD, the same year Domitian celebrated a triumph over the Chatti — a campaign whose military legitimacy was mocked by contemporaries, including Pliny the Younger, who noted that the German slaves paraded in the procession had their hair dyed blond to pass as authentic captives.