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Sestertius - Domitian TR P COS VII DES VIII P P S C, Minerva
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 81 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 25.2 g |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Domitian facing right, with finely rendered curly hair and a short beard, set upon a draped and cuirassed bust. The emperor's portrait is rendered in the vigorous, realist style characteristic of early Flavian coinage. The circumferential Latin legend, reading IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMITIAN AVG P M, encircles the effigy within a beaded border. The bust is positioned centrally and occupies the majority of the field, conveying imperial authority in the manner established by his father Vespasian. |
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| Reverse lettering | TR P COS VII DES VIII P P S C (Translation: Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Septimum, Designatus Octavum, Pater Patriae, Senatus Consultum. Holder of tribunician power, consul for the seventh time, elect for the eighth time, father of the nation, decree of the senate.) |
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| Additional information |
Domitian's early sestertii of 81 AD were struck in the final months of Titus's reign or the immediate aftermath of his death in September of that year — the tribunician and consular dating places this piece at a transitional moment when the new emperor was consolidating authority with conspicuous speed. Domitian had waited over a decade in his brother's shadow, and the coin output of his first regnal year reflects a man determined to establish a distinct identity rather than continue Flavian dynastic continuity.
His particular devotion to Minerva was not casual piety. Ancient sources, including Suetonius, record that Domitian kept a shrine to her and consulted her in dreams. She would remain his patron deity throughout a reign that ended with his assassination in 96 AD.