Roman Empire, Domitian

Denarius circa 88-96, AR 3.51 g. IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M Laureate head r. Rev. DIVVS CAESAR IMP DOMITIANI F Infant seated on globe, raising both hands; around him, seven stars. RIC 209a (hybrid). BMC –. C –. CBN –.

Extremely rare. Good very fine
Ex NFA sale XXVII, 1991, 118.

Throughout the course of Imperial Roman coinage seven children were honored posthumously, with five of them being presented as gods. One of these divine children was an infant son born to Domitia, the wife of Domitian. Virtually nothing is known about him, and if he had not appeared on this rare coin type, he would have been little more than a footnote in the historical record. We may deduce from a passage in Suetonius, from historical circumstances, and from his infantile appearance on memorial coins that he probably was born in 83 and died soon thereafter. Regrettably, his name is nowhere recorded. Since the boy usually appears on the reverse of coins of Domitia, and Domitian seems to have divorced her in about 83 (roughly the time she would have given birth to the boy), it seems obvious that he died in infancy and that Domitian immediately deified him and celebrated him on coinage before he exiled his wife. Domitian’s grief must have been profound, for the boy’s presentation ranks among the most inventive on all Roman coinage; he is shown as a young Jupiter seated on a globe with his hands raised toward seven stars that represent the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major). The boy is also represented on two other rare issues: denarii inscribed PIETAS AVGVST that show him standing before Domitia in the guise of Pietas, and sestertii with a similar scene but inscribed DIVI CAESAR MATRI or DIVI CAESARIS MATER. This particular denarius is a notable rarity, and is considered to be a muling of a Domitian obverse with a Domitia reverse.