My latest purchase has me pondering whether or not some emperors, more so than others, felt they had an obligation to honour the good fortune that elevated them to the purple. Domitian certainly had reason to feel 'lucky'. Domitian Æ As, 11.52g Rome mint, 87 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XIII CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: FORTVNAE AVGVSTI; S C in field; Fortuna stg. l., with rudder and cornucopiae RIC 544 (C3). BMC 401. BNC 431. Acquired from Witter Coins, eBay, July 2020. Fortuna was a very popular reverse type on Domitian's coinage. She featured on the his first denarii struck after the coinage reform of 82 and would later become a regular type on the bronzes. This common As from 87 shows Fortuna with her familiar attributes of a rudder, with which she steers the world, and a cornucopiae representing the rich bounty she brings. Domitian must have felt some sort of special obligation to Fortuna and repaid it by featuring her cult image on his coinage. This coin is struck in fine 'Flavian baroque' style, similar to the contemporary denarii. Post your Fortunas!
Nice As, @David Atherton ... Uncle Dom always had an S-Eating grin to me. I always wondered about my Tessera, having Fortuna on it. Perhaps it was a gambling or gaming token? RI Tessera c 1st C CE PB 13mm 1.39g Fortuna rudder cornu DP Rostovtsev 2307 Ruggerio 808-9
Here's Faustina II celebrating some "womanly fortune" (Fortuna muliebris). Faustina Junior, AD 161-175. Roman AR denarius, 2.82 g, 17.7 mm, 2 h. Rome, AD 161-175. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: FORTVNAE MVLIEBRI, Fortuna Muliebris enthroned left, holding rudder and cornucopiae. Refs: RIC 683; BMCRE 96; Cohen 107; RCV 5253; CRE 181.
Here's an old Nerva Dupondius. Never been able to tell if it's really Fortuna, but that's what's written on the coin... Nerva Dupondius Rome 27mm. 8.19g IMP NERVA CAES AVG PMTRP COS III PP FORTVNA AVGVST S-C Fortuna holding rudder & cornucopiae 97 AD RIC 84
