Dupondius Domitian - victory against the Chatti

DOMITIAN. AE Dupondius. Rome, 85 AD. Obv. IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI Radiated head right Rev. VICTORIAE AVGVSTI SC Victory standing left, holding a palm and inscribing a Germanic shield set on tropaeum. RIC 268; Cohen 639 (3 F) Type belonging to the serie struck to commemorate the victory in the campaign against the Chatti, a German tribe, started in 83 AD. Domitian harboured an inferiority complex toward his brother and father. In the matter of military glory, the jealousy was acute: his brother had led the siege of Jerusalem, and his father had led most of the war in Judaea, and had won much glory in his earlier years, including a triumphia ornamentalia for his command in Claudius’ invasion of Britain. Domitian had always been eager for a military command, and Suetonius (Domitian 1) tells us that when his father established his government in Rome, Domitian greatly wanted glory so badly that he "…planned a quite unnecessary expedition into Gaul and Germany, from which his father’s friends managed to dissuade him". In actuality, his skills in the arts of war were enviable: he is said to have been able to shoot an arrow between the spread fingers of a hand without fail. His first campaign – which this well-composed issue celebrates – was against the Chatti in 83. Domitian led a perfectly successful campaign in which the Chatti were roundly defeated and the Roman border was extended beyond the Rhine. In honour of this victory Domitian was hailed Germanicus, won a triumph, and even had an arch erected. [NAC] Sharp strike from new dies; Tiber patina. Poindessault sale 32, 21 Dec. 2007, lot 197 Dr E.P. Nicolas collection, Paris Drouot auction (Platt) 9-10 March 1982, lot 305