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RIC 096 Domitian as Caesar [Titus]
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AR Denarius, 3.39g
Rome mint, 80 AD
Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS VII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS; Hands clasped over aquila on prow
RIC 96 (C). BMC 85. RSC 395. BNC 71.
Acquired from Imperial Coins, August 2011.
Struck in 80 AD under Titus, the reverse shows clasped hands over an aquila set on a prow, apparently representing 'Concordia Militum' - 'Harmony of the troops' (BMC II, xlii-xliii). An odd choice to be sure for anyone other than the emperor to issue. According to Suetonius - 'After the death of his father, he (Domitian) hesitated for a long time whether he should offer the soldiery a double bounty and he never had any hesitation in stating that he had been left as a partner in the imperial position but that fraud had been applied to the will.' (Suet., Dom., 2)
There is a COS VI of this reverse type assigned under Vespasian in both RIC and BMCRE but certainly post dates Vespasian's death.
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