Domitian Sestertius, RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 399

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

Under the Flavian dynasty, the Augustan monetary system established a century earlier remained the structural foundation of Roman imperial currency. Within this hierarchy, the sestertius served as the flagship brass denomination, struck in orichalcum rather than pure copper. Valued at four asses, two dupondii, or one quarter of a silver denarius, the sestertius occupied a crucial position bridging low-denomination daily market transactions and higher-value payments, such as army wages, imperial donatives, and state procurement. The significant physical scale and weight of the denomination, normally hovering around twenty-six to twenty-eight grams, made it the primary vehicle for visual messaging distributed across the empire. Domitian oversaw notable adjustments to imperial coinage early in his reign, including a short-lived attempt between AD 82 and AD 85 to elevate the fineness and weight standard of the silver coinage alongside strict quality control at the base-metal mint. By late AD 85, when type 399 was struck, imperial authorities maintained rigorous control over the production standards of base-metal issues, ensuring that the sestertius retained both its intrinsic valuation and its civic authority across the provinces.

Production Standards and Mint Organization

All regular brass sestertii of this type were produced at the principal imperial mint situated in the city of Rome. Epigraphic and numismatic studies indicate that the Rome mint operated under a highly structured divisional system consisting of multiple officinae or workshops, which coordinated the preparation of orichalcum flans, die engraving, and striking. The composition of the alloy was primarily copper alloyed with zinc, granting the freshly struck sestertius a golden appearance that clearly set it apart from the reddish copper of the smaller as. Flan preparation required casting blanks into spherical or flattened discs, which were subsequently hammered between fixed lower obverse dies and hand-held upper reverse dies. The die axis for this issue was routinely fixed at twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting the careful mechanical alignment characteristic of Flavian mint practice. Mint artisans executed portrait dies with high relief and acute anatomical precision, illustrating the technical maturity of the Flavian mint infrastructure following the administrative consolidation of the early 80s AD.

Obverse Iconography and Attributes

The obverse of RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 399 features a right-facing, laureate head or bust of Domitian. A distinguishing iconographical feature of this specific catalogued variety is the presence of an aegis draped across his neck or shoulders. The aegis, traditionally a goat-skin mantle fringed with serpents associated with Jupiter and Minerva, conveyed powerful connotations of divine protection and celestial favor. The laurel wreath encircling the emperor's brow represents the corona triumphalis, emphasizing his acclaimed military prestige following campaigns in the German theater. Stylistically, portraits from AD 85 demonstrate the mature Flavian realistic aesthetic, characterized by a heavy jaw, prominent nasal profile, and carefully rendered locks of hair, balanced by an imposing imperial gravitas. The engraving portrays Domitian not merely as an administrative princeps, but as a consecrated supreme commander endowed with sacred protection.

Reverse Iconography and Cult of Minerva

The reverse iconography depicts the emperor Domitian standing to the left, wearing a toga and holding a patera in his right hand. He extends the patera to pour a libation over a low, lighted sacrificial altar placed before him. Facing the altar and the emperor stands an open distyle shrine or temple naiskos, supported by two columns and surmounted by a pediment, within which is visible a standing cult statue of Minerva. Minerva is shown armed with her spear and shield, the standard iconographic type of the warlike virgin goddess. The act of sacrifice in the imperial presence captures the fundamental Roman virtue of pietas, presenting the emperor as the supreme religious intermediary between the Roman state and the gods. The specific dedication to Minerva reflects Domitian's deeply personal religious devotion; he revered Minerva above all other members of the Capitoline triad, honoring her on numerous reverse types throughout his principate and instituting an annual festival in her honor at his Alban villa.

Epigraphy and Titulature

The legends on this type provide critical documentary evidence for both the date of manufacture and the imperial ideology of AD 85. The obverse perimeter inscription reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS PER P P, expanding to Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Consul Undecimum, Censor Perpetuus, Pater Patriae. The title Germanicus records his military victories over the Chatti in AD 83, while the numeral COS XI establishes that the coin was minted in the year of his eleventh consulship, which commenced on January 1, AD 85. Crucially, the addition of CENS PER, denoting censor perpetuus or perpetual censor, dates the striking to the late summer or autumn of AD 85, when Domitian assumed lifetime tenure of this office following a brief initial appointment as censor. The reverse legend consists solely of the large field letters S C, signifying Senatus Consulto, by decree of the Senate. This standard mark on imperial base-metal issues maintained the traditional legal fiction that the Senate authorized the production and circulation of brass and copper money, even as the imperial palace exercised complete control over design, weight standards, and mint administration.

Typological Development and Chronological Placement

Type RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 399 occupies a tightly circumscribed chronological window within the coinage of Domitian's reign. In early AD 85, Domitian held the consulship without the title of censor, producing sestertii inscribed with COS XI alone. By mid-year, he adopted the title Censor, producing issues reading CENS POT or CENSOR. Toward the autumn of AD 85, he formalized his unprecedented permanent control over public morality and the composition of the Senate by assuming the title CENS PER. In the systematic revision of the Roman Imperial Coinage catalog by Ian Carradice and Theodore V. Buttrey, type 399 is classified among the earliest sestertii featuring this perpetual censorial title alongside COS XI. In subsequent years, beginning on January 1, AD 86, the consular designation advanced to COS XII, permanently superseding the COS XI iteration. The sacrificial Minerva type was part of a coordinated programmatic series of reverse types in late AD 85 that also celebrated military victories, imperial public sacrifices, and senatorial harmony.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Archaeological Context

As base-metal legal tender of significant purchasing power, sestertii struck in AD 85 circulated widely across Italy and the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Gaul, the Germanies, and Britannia. Because of their robust copper-alloy composition, these large coins frequently remained in active commercial circulation for decades. Archaeological findspots and coin hoards from the Rhine and Danube frontiers demonstrate that Flavian sestertii were frequently carried by legionary troops and civilian merchants, enduring long-term transactional wear until many were eventually withdrawn or hoarded during the economic disruptions of the mid-to-late second or third centuries AD. While silver denarii and gold aurei were heavily hoarded for capital preservation, sestertii are most frequently recovered as stray losses in urban excavations, temple deposits, and military camp contexts, confirming their ubiquitous utility as primary vehicles of high-value daily commerce and regional trade.

References

1. Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96. BAR International Series 178, pp. 9-28
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. II: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 360-375
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 399. Type record ric.2_1(2).dom.399
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II, Part 1: From AD 69 to 96: Vespasian to Domitian. pp. 290-305, no. 399