Sestertius - Domitian S C, Victory

Issued during the early years of Domitian's Dacian and German campaigns, this sestertius falls within the period when the emperor was actively pursuing — and loudly advertising — military success on the northern frontiers. The Senate's formal award of the title Germanicus in 83 AD gave Domitian enormous propaganda incentive to keep victory imagery in heavy circulation, even when battlefield outcomes were, at best, ambiguous. Ancient sources, including Tacitus, were openly skeptical that the German triumph of 83 was earned.

RIC II.1 639 is among the better-documented bronze issues of the reign, attributed to the Rome mint under the revised Carradice-Buttrey framework that substantially reorganized the earlier RIC II Domitian numbering.