Dupondius - Domitian VIRTVTI AVGVSTI S C, Virtus

Domitian's VIRTVTI AVGVSTI coinage was part of a deliberate program of self-glorification that intensified after the Danubian campaigns of the late 80s AD, where he claimed a triumph over the Dacians and Chatti that contemporaries — including Tacitus — considered largely manufactured. The Senate's forced compliance in ratifying these honors makes issues invoking martial virtue particularly charged objects.

RIC II.1 754 dates to the period of Domitian's most autocratic rule, just years before his assassination in 96 AD.