Every now and again someone turns up a (base) coin from the provinces we otherwise wouldn't know about. A few years ago we got hyped about Sponsian. Another was Domitian II... except that coin, found in northwest France, was ruled a froggery. Somewhere around here is one Silbannacus, which is a funny name such that he may as well have called himself "king" and issued commands in Gaulish.
Turns out that another Domitian coin has turned up - this time in Britain. Like the suspect original, this cannot be a coin of Flavius Domitianus. It has the copper composition of a coin of the rusted age of the postSeverans, that Third Century Crisis. Our man simply didn't own the mines to strike good silver.
Given that only two coins survive (and of them the old Gaulish one is lost now) out of the many thousands of cheap third-century coins in the hoards; Domitian II likely was not emperor long. It might not have been his name in the first place. He was a pretender who had some legions and lands, but was swiftly swatted away by the competent legions of the region. "Domitian" as a name was mud among Senators of course, but the milites hardly cared for what Senators thought.
Anyway TopRomanFacts is telling us about Chalgrove.
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