The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 14, April 3, 2005, Article 7

FORGOTTEN EMPEROR'S COIN ON DISPLAY

Arthur Shippee forwarded a link from the Explorator
newsletter to an article about the recently-found coin
of the Roman Emperor Domitianus:

"The 1,700-year-old find, part of a hoard discovered by
a metal detecting enthusiast near Oxford in April, 2003,
proved the existence of Domitianus, dubbed the forgotten
emperor.

The discovery, which stunned archaeologists when it was
made public last year, is returning to the Ashmolean Museum
in Oxford where it will eventually form a centrepiece to a new
gallery to be devoted to money."

"The base silver piece offers solid evidence for a long-dismissed
claim that Domitianus had indeed declared himself an emperor
at a time of upheaval in the Roman Empire.

A high-ranking army officer, he is now believed to have staged
a short lived military coup, declaring himself emperor of a
western tranche of the Roman Empire which included Britain
in the second half of the Third Century AD."

"The claim is not new. Around 100 years ago an identical coin
portraying the bearded face of Domitianus was found in central
France, but was dismissed as a hoax.

However the appearance of a second coin, fused inside a
hoard lost for centuries is seen as proof of the long-forgotten
chapter in Roman history.

The fact that he was able to have coins struck in his image
provides evidence that Domitianus’s bid for power succeeded
at least as far as giving him control over a mint, thought to
have been at Trier in Germany.

Nevertheless, the fact that only two coins bearing his image
are known to exist suggests to historians that his rule was
extremely short – perhaps just a few days."

"The museum plans to exhibit the pieces permanently in its
new Money Gallery as part of a major lottery-funded
development plan."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

Another article has great images of the coin, the exhibit,
and the original hoard: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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