Still working on learning all I can from here and thanks for comments. I got this one yesterday and initially thought it was a Germanicus as I could make out part of the script, but needed some time to decipher it. Silver Denarius - Domitian - (88) Rome ~3g, 19/20mm Minerva with a shield and raised spear on back. What really drew me to it was the strong markings. Found it on ancient-roman-coins.com as it was not on numista. Got a very fair deal for the denarius, and the dealer included an old Roman seal. I had found six coins I really liked from the batch he recently acquired, but my tastes were much better than my cash flow yesterday. Welcome any comments on the seal as well. I love pieces that bring you to the past and the research.
Fabulous coin of Domitian, @Homer2, and not an easy one to find - the lack of reverse legend other than COS XIIII makes it stand out. Domitian, 81-96, denarius, Rome, 88 Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VII, laureate head of Domitian to right Rev: Rev. COS - XIIII Minerva standing right on top of rostral column, holding spear and shield; owl right Ref: RIC 553 <corrected attribution per @David Atherton! it is not the similar RIC 562> Suetonius doesn't paint a portrait of a gregarious and fun loving emperor: "At the beginning of his reign he used to spend hours in seclusion every day, doing nothing but catch flies and stab them with a keenly-sharpened stylus." -Suetonius, Life of Domitian, 3.1
Great denarius, @Homer2 !! Oh, my! Hahaha. I can't get over that excerpt from Suetonius. That just became my favorite of Suetonius' biographical tidbits!!
