| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 146 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 2324 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Titus caesar, 69 – 79. Divus Titus. Aureus 82-83, AV 19 mm, 7.73 g. DIVVS TITVS AVGVSTVS Radiate head r. Rev. IVLIA AVGVSTA DIVI TITI F Draped bust of Julia r. C 1. BMC Domitian 69. RIC Domitian 147. CBN Domitian 74. Calicó 805 (these dies). Extremely rare, only very few specimens known. An intriguing issue with two portraits of fine style perfectly centred on a large flan. Minor edge marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex M&M 15, 1955, 742; Hess-Leu 9, 1958, 305; Hess-Leu 16, 1961, von Schulthness, 113; Gorny & Mosch 207, 2012, 616; Hess-Divo 338, 2019, 1108; Künker 351, 2021, 340 sales. When the emperor Titus died in September, A.D. 81, Domitian could not have been displeased: he had lived in the shadow of his more fortunate, older brother his entire life, and with Titus' passing he was raised from the rank of Caesar to Augustus, and with that took command of the Roman world. The sources record that Domitian was not merely satisfied with his brother's demise, but made no effort to prevent it; at least three later sources suggest that he murdered Titus. Sibling rivalry and murder plots aside, the practical nature of Domitian assured that he saw the personal value of having his brother deified, and for commemorating him with monuments and coins such as this aureus. Domitian knew that he was emperor almost exclusively because of his family ties, as his rule represented the continuation of the Flavian dynasty. This aureus belongs to a series that Domitian issued in A.D. 82/3, not long after he had assumed the purple. It contains aurei and denarii devoted individually to members of the family, and also dual-portrait issues for Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, as well as Domitilla (Domitian's sister), Domitia (Domitian's wife) and Julia Titi (Domitian's niece). The series is supplemented with aes in the name of Titus and Domitia. After these groups were produced, Domitian does not appear to have struck imperial coins for a family member for at least the next seven years. This is perhaps the most curious of his dual-portrait issues, for on the obverse appears the brother who Domitian disliked (and may have murdered), and on the reverse appears his brother's daughter, with whom Domitian was infatuated. When both were younger there had been an attempt to arrange a marriage between Domitian and Julia Titi, but the former was already married to Domitia, so his niece married a second-cousin, Flavius Sabinus. The fact that they were married did not prevent them from having an amorous, incestuous relationship, which we are told started before Titus died. When it was convenient, Domitian even had Julia's husband executed. Dio Cassius (67.3.2) describes the domestic situation after Domitian divorced his wife Domitia in c.83: "After this he lived with his own niece (Julia, that is to say) as husband with wife, making little effort at concealment. Then upon the demands of the people he became reconciled with Domitia, but continued his relations with Julia none the less." The most shocking reports, however, concern the death of Julia in c.90/1, which we are told resulted from a failed abortion forced upon her by Domitian. Estimate: 30000 CHF |  |
