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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1324308, member: 19463&quot;]The legends are weak but clear.&nbsp; On the reverse it says TRP COS VII DES VIII PP.&nbsp; The significant part is The DES VIII which means that the coin was issued late in the year 81 AD after the death of his brother Titus.&nbsp; The Romans assumed the consulship on January 1 so Domitian, now the new emperor, had announced the intention of assuming the eighth consulship on New Year&#039;s day even though this coin was made before that date arrived.&nbsp; The inclusion of DIVI VESP F points out that Domitian was just as much a son of the divine Vespasian as had been Titus.&nbsp; It is not uncommon for emperors to include honorifics to their predecessor but in this case Domitian was not becoming emperor because he was brother of Titus but because he was son of Vespasian.&nbsp; Certainly it would be nice if the coin were a bit less rough but it certainly is worth $12.&nbsp; Fans of big coins will be glad to know that Domitian also issued sestertii worth four of these asses which are almost US silver dollar size but you&#039;ll have more trouble finding one for $12... a lot more trouble.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyone interested in a bit more on abbreviations of this sort might like my page:</p><p><a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/abb.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/abb.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/abb.html</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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