Domitian, as Caesar (AD 81-96). AV aureus (20mm, 7.31 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 75. CAES AVG F-DOMIT COS III, laureate head of Domitian right / PRINCIPS-IVVENTVT (sic), Spes advancing left, flower in outstretched right hand, raising hem of stola with left. RIC II.1 (Vespasian) 787, note 151. Calicó 913. Excellently struck and centered, with full beading on both sides. Beautiful orange toning throughout. From the Monaco Collection. Ex Triton XXIV (19 January 2021), lot 1076; Numismatica Genevensis SA, Auction VIII (24 November 2014), lot 92 Domitian has gone down in history as a depraved tyrant, but he was certainly not a madman like Caligula, nor was he an incompetent dilettante like Nero. As a young man, Domitian was largely overshadowed by his older brother Titus, a situation that probably shaped his dour, resentful character. In AD 79, Vespasian was succeeded by Titus as Augustus, with Domitian taking the junior position of Caesar. However, unfortunately Titus ruled only two years before he fell ill and died, in September of AD 81. Domitian wasted no time in seizing power as the third emperor of the Flavian dynasty. He soon proved a conscientious, detail-oriented administrator who kept a firm hand on all facets of government. Despite his uneven military record, the legions loved Domitian for raising their pay by nearly 50 percent. But, Domitian's suspicion of the aristocracy soon deepened into paranoia. Unsuccessful conspiracies against him, in AD 87 and 89, caused him to abandon all restraint, and by AD 93 Rome was in the grip of a new reign of terror. Even Domitian's wife came to fear for her life, and she encouraged the emperor's personal attendants to plot against him, leading to his murder, in AD 96.

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