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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 3308054, member: 82616&quot;]The postman recently delivered another great coin!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]876548[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian as Caesar</b></p><p>Æ As, 10.65g</p><p>Rome mint, 76 AD (Vespasian)</p><p>RIC 932 (C). BMC - .</p><p>Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS IIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.</p><p>Rev: S C in field; Spes stg. l., with flower</p><p>Acquired from [USER=76086]@Ken Dorney[/USER], January 2019.</p><p><br /></p><p>Spes, the goddess of hope, is seen here as an &#039;heir apparent&#039; type. She is represented on Roman coins as a young girl, reminiscent of earlier Greek statues depicting Elpis. H. Mattingly in BMCRE II says <i>&#039;the flower held by Spes is an opening bud, she is raising her skirt in order to hasten forward</i>&#039;. Spes occurs quite commonly throughout the Flavian coinage and is frequently paired up with the young Domitian Caesar, likely expressing a hope or expectation for future dynastic success. It is very Ironic that Spes is often associated with Domitian Caesar on the coinage, considering he would later be the family member most responsible for the dynasty&#039;s downfall in 96. Surprisingly, this common Spes type is not in the BM.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse features a quintessential Flavian portrait - unflattering hook nose with full and heavy facial features. The dark green patina is an additional bonus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks Ken![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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