Julia Titi, daughter of Titus Sestertius Rome 92-94, Æ 32.00 mm., 24.12 g.

Richly decorated carpentum drawn r. by two mules. Rev. Legend around S C C 10. RIC Domitian 760.

Rare. Attracrive light brown-green patina, smoothed, otherwise Good Very Fine.

Though Julia was an Augusta, she was secondary in importance to Domitia, the wife of her uncle Domitian, who was then the reigning emperor. None the less, the future was brimming with hope for Julia, a woman who has come down to us in the historical tradition as less than scrupulous. She was young enough to hope for an elevation from her position of honor to one of actual authority, especially since she was having a secret affair with her uncle Domitian, who was childless and in a difficult marriage. In 83, not long after this coin was struck, Julia's prospects brightened considerably: Domitian exiled his wife and Julia could pursue her affair with Domitian more completely by living with him in the palace. This did not bode well for Julia's unfortunate husband, her second cousin Flavius Sabinus, who Domitian soon executed on an invented charge. The incestuous couple shared their lives until 90 or 91, when Julia died of a failed abortion attempt.