Watch List notes:

AV Aureus 75 AD, DOMITIANUS 81–96 AD Rome. Laureate head right CAES AVG F DOMIT COS III. Rev. Spes advancing left, holding up flower and hem of skirt PRINCEPS IVVENTVT.RIC 787 (Vespasian); Coh. 374; BMC 155.Several numismatists have attempted to trace the uses of the goddess Spes in Roman imperial propaganda. According to Michael S. Armstrong (1998), one of the earliest representations of spes can be found on the coinage of Claudius who primarily used the imagery of the goddess as an expression of his dynastic ambitions and wish to perpetuate the line of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
The emphasis placed by Domitian, by then still Caesar under Vespasian, on Spes on this particular aureus might suggest a similar motive. The idea was forwarded that Domitian's reign was going to be a resurrection of the glory days of the Julian-Claudian dynasty, reassuring the citizens and soldiers of Rome that the future and hopes of the empire were thus secure. 7.32 g. NGC Ch VF. Strike 5 out of 5; Surface 2 out of 5. Scuffs