| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 30074 Price realized: 28,000 USD (Approx. 25,525 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients Domitian, as Caesar (AD 81-96). AV aureus (21mm, 7.26 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 76-77. CAESAR AVG F-DOMITIANVS, laureate head of Domitian right / COS-IIII, cornucopia bound with fillet, containing grain ears, pyramidal cake, pomegranates and other fruits, three grape clusters hanging from rim of horn. Calicó 817a. RIC II.1 (Vespasian) 918. Perfectly struck from magnificent style dies on a fully lustrous flan. Smoldering red-orange toning accompanies the intense portrait. From the Wetmore Collection of Gold and Electrum. Ex Leu Numismatik, Auction 65 (21 May 1996), lot 352; Tkalec Auction (23 October 1992), lot 249. Domitian has gone down in history as a depraved tyrant, but he was certainly not a madman like Caligula, nor was he an incompetent dilettante like Nero. As a young man, Domitian was largely overshadowed by his older brother Titus, a situation that probably shaped his dour, resentful character. In AD 79, Vespasian was succeeded by Titus as Augustus, with Domitian taking the junior position of Caesar. But Titus ruled only two years before he fell ill and died in September of AD 81. Domitian wasted no time in seizing power as the third emperor of the Flavian dynasty. He soon proved a conscientious, detail-oriented administrator who kept a firm hand on all facets of government. Despite his uneven military record, the legions loved Domitian for raising their pay by nearly 50 percent. But Domitian's suspicion of the aristocracy soon deepened into paranoia. Unsuccessful conspiracies against him in AD 87 and 89 caused him to abandon all restraint, and by AD 93 Rome was in the grip of a reign of terror. Even Domitian's wife came to fear for her life, and she encouraged the emperor's personal attendants to plot against him, leading to his murder in AD 96. This stunning gold aureus, struck while he was Caesar under Vespasian, sports a robust portrait in high Flavian style, whereas during his sole reign, he revised coin portraits to show himself in a slimmed-down, more flattering light. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-domitian-as-caesar-ad-81-96-av-aureus-21mm-726-gm-6h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-4-5-fine-style/a/3113-30074.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 20000-30000 USD |  |
