Smyrna (AD 95) AE 19 - Vespasianus Jr.

Vespasianus Jr., ca 95 AD. AE 19 (3.29g). OVECÎ ACIANOC NEÎ©TEPOC Draped, bare headed bust to r. / ZMYPNAIÎ©N, Nike to l. holding wreath and palm branch. Extremely rare. Very fine. Ex MÃ¼nzhandlung Basel; Ex Coll. Jameson 86

Vespasianus Jr. was Titus Flavius Domitianus, son of Flavia Domitilla III. In order to have heirs for his title, Domitian adopted two sons of Flavia Domitilla III who were his great-nephews. They were renamed Vespasianus and Domitianus. Soon, he realized that having potential heirs, meant a potential rival and assassination. So he had the two boys either killed or exiled after executing their father and exiling their mother. This act recoiled on him as he was murdered by Stefanus, the steward of Flavia Domitilla III. There are no known coins bearing a name or portrait for Domitianus Jr., only for Vespasianus Jr. The only locality that issued coins of Vespasian Jr. was Smyrna.

File information
Filename:	01589q00.jpg
City/Mint name:	Smyrna
Rating (3 votes):
Keywords:	roman / bronze
References:	BMC 316. RPC 1029. C. 1 var. Vagi 1164
Valuation:	UBS Auc. 78 (9/2008), lot 1589 ($6,201 + comm)
Photo courtesy of:	UBS Gold & Numismatics - www.ubs.com
Filesize:	46 KiB
Date added:	Oct 07, 2008
Dimensions:	729 x 325 pixels
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