Domitius Domitanus, Usurper

CNG 102, Lot: 1091. Estimate $3000. Sold for $3750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Domitius Domitianus. Usurper, AD 297-298. Æ Follis (27mm, 9.38 g, 12h). Alexandria mint, 2nd officina. 2nd emission, AD 298. IMP C L DOMITIVS DOMITIANVS AVG, laureate head right / GENIO POPV L I ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding cornucopia and sacrificing with patera; to left, eagle standing left, head right, wreath in beak; B//ALE. RIC VI 20. Near EF, attractive dark brown surfaces, traces of silvering, a few spots of verdigris. Rare.

The revolt of Domitius Domitianus in Egypt destabilized a vitally strategic region by interrupting the grain supply to Rome and opening the possibility of Persian (Sasanian) invasion. For almost a year, Domitianus controlled Alexandria and its mint, striking aurei and folles, as well as a series of pre-reform imperial Greek denominations.