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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Nemo, post: 2864436, member: 58462&quot;]Sheesh, fantastic Flavians and a FANTASTIC writeup!</p><p><br /></p><p>I have only one Domitian Sestertius, the only known sestertius mule under Titus. Just slightly more worn than Ides example. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]683095[/ATTACH] </p><p>Domitian Caesar / Titus Judaea Capta Æ Sestertius Mule, 25.38 g. Rome mint, struck 80/81</p><p><br /></p><p>O: [CAES DIVI] AVG VESP F DOMITIAN[VS COS VII] - RIC II 288-306 (Titus) </p><p>R: IVD CAP across fields; SC in field below; mourning Jewess to left of palm on pile of arms; Jew on right with hands bound, arms on ground. - Titus RIC 153 (Perhaps a die match); Hendin 1593b; Upcoming addenda Titus 287A.</p><p><br /></p><p>From the patina it was likely found in eastern Europe, perhaps Bulgaria, a rich find spot for a lot of the judaea sestertii.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]683100[/ATTACH] </p><p>Domitian. AD 81-96. AR Denarius, 20mm, 3.50g. Rome mint. Struck AD 85</p><p>O: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P IIII; Laureate bust Domitian right with aegis</p><p>R: IMP VIIII COS XI CENS POT P P; Minerva standing right on capital of rostral column with spear and shield; aegis draped over back with snakes around; owl to right.</p><p>- RIC 334</p><p><br /></p><p>Minerva was clearly the favorite goddess and patroness of Domitian, evidenced here by his wearing of her aegis.</p><p>In the Thebaid Minerva is represented as a terrifying battle goddess, entrusted with Jupiter&#039;s horrible aegis, that terrifies the Thebans. The popular perception of Domitian as cruel and capricious was entirely consistent with the wanton destructiveness of Minerva in the epic.</p><p><br /></p><p>What scene is portrayed on the center of the capital?</p><p>From Dressel, Berlin Medallions (published 1973), p. 14, note 1: &#039;Cohen 237 note says, &quot;a standing figure and a seated figure&quot;. Gnecchi, Medaglioni I, p. 43, 4 says &quot;two small figures, the one on the left seated and the second one kneeling before the seated figure&quot;. As can be seen on many of the more carefully engraved specimens [Dressel continues], the first figure is shown seated right, while the second figure kneels before the first figure, with arms raised in entreaty.&#039;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]683105[/ATTACH] </p><p>A common Pegasus type with uncommon style.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>And last but not least, a countermarked bronze:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]683106[/ATTACH] </p><p>Domitian Ae 25mm, 14.02 g. Sebaste, Samaria. O: Laureate head of Domitian IMP DOMITIANVS CAESAR; Countermark: LXF, of the Tenth Legion Fretensis in rectangular punch. R: Tyche standing to left resting foot on rock(?) holding spear and globe, [CEBAC]THNWN (of the people of Sebaste); in l. field, date: LΘΡ (year 109 = 81/2 AD). Host coin - RPC II 2226, with LXF - Hendin 1613a. </p><p><br /></p><p>The Tenth Legion probably acquired its name, Fretensis, from the Fretum Siculum, the straits where the legion fought successfully against Sextus Pompey. </p><p><br /></p><p>It is undoubtedly most famous for its part in the destruction of Jerusalem under General Titus. Starting in 66 CE, Roman armies began fighting their way from the northern parts of Israel, down to Jerusalem. </p><p><br /></p><p>Titus advanced on Jerusalem near Passover 70 C.E., trapping the residents and pilgrims inside the city. His forces stripped the Judean countryside of trees to build a 4.5-mile-long wall of pointed stakes around the capital. </p><p><br /></p><p>In that year X Fretensis, in conjunction with V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, and XV Apollinaris, began the five month siege of Jerusalem that would result in what Jewish Bible scholar Alfred Edersheim described as a, “tribulation to Israel unparalleled in the terrible past of its history, and unequalled even in its bloody future.”[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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