Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3056 3 Aug 2017
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Domitian (AD 81-96). AV aureus (19mm, 7.60 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 92-94. DOMITIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Domitian right / GERMANICVS COS XVI, Germania, bare-chested and draped from the waist, half-reclining to right, with head resting on left hand in attitude of mourning, upon Germanic hexagonal shield, broken spear below. RIC 747. BMCRE 211. Cohen 163. Calicó 854 (R1). Well struck and brilliantly lustrous, with a fine portrait and a poignant reverse marking the "defeat" of the Germanic tribes.
Domitian's wars against the Germans are described by his biographers as farcical affairs unworthy of celebration, but this likely stems from the hostile press he received after his assassination. Shortly after securing the throne, he set off with the legions in a campaign against the Chatti in AD 83, after which he claimed the title Germanicus, seen on this gold aureus issued about a decade later. Whether the campaign was punitive in nature, or just an opportunity for Domitian to gain credibility with the Legions, it does seem to have enabled him to secure Roman control of the frontier area known as the Agri Decumates, which remained in Roman hands for another century and a half.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 12000-15000 USD
Domitian (AD 81-96). AV aureus (19mm, 7.60 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 92-94. DOMITIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Domitian right / GERMANICVS COS XVI, Germania, bare-chested and draped from the waist, half-reclining to right, with head resting on left hand in attitude of mourning, upon Germanic hexagonal shield, broken spear below. RIC 747. BMCRE 211. Cohen 163. Calicó 854 (R1). Well struck and brilliantly lustrous, with a fine portrait and a poignant reverse marking the "defeat" of the Germanic tribes.
Domitian's wars against the Germans are described by his biographers as farcical affairs unworthy of celebration, but this likely stems from the hostile press he received after his assassination. Shortly after securing the throne, he set off with the legions in a campaign against the Chatti in AD 83, after which he claimed the title Germanicus, seen on this gold aureus issued about a decade later. Whether the campaign was punitive in nature, or just an opportunity for Domitian to gain credibility with the Legions, it does seem to have enabled him to secure Roman control of the frontier area known as the Agri Decumates, which remained in Roman hands for another century and a half.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 12000-15000 USD