Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dupondius - Domitian VIRTVTI AVGVSTI S C, Virtus
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 90-91 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | VIRTVTI AVGVSTI S C (Translation: Virtuti Augusti. Senatus Consultum. To the courage of the emperor. Decree of the senate.) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Domitian's VIRTVTI AVGVSTI dupondii belong to a coinage program that was deeply personal rather than conventional. By the early 90s, Domitian had grown increasingly autocratic, demanding to be addressed as *dominus et deus* — lord and god — a title his predecessors had carefully avoided. The Virtus type, projecting martial virtue, was part of a sustained effort to shore up his military image after campaigns in Germany and Dacia that produced more triumphs than victories.
He was assassinated in 96 AD, after which the Senate ordered his memory erased under *damnatio memoriae*. Coins bearing his name were sometimes defaced in circulation, making undamaged examples worth examining closely around the obverse field.