My latest acquisition was hidden in a dealer's group lot. Domitian AR Denarius, 3.19g Rome mint, 85 AD RIC 333 (R2). BMC specimen acquired 1987. RSC 180. Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P IIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP VIIII COS XI CENS POT P P; Minerva stg. r. on capital of rostral column, with spear and shield; to r., owl (M2) Acquired from Germania Inferior, January 2018. In 82 Domitian increased the silver fineness of the denarius to nearly 100% purity. Three years later in mid 85 the fineness was again adjusted, this time downward to c. 90%, presumably for monetary or fiscal reasons. Domitian also assumed the powers of censor in April of 85 which was recorded on the coinage. The title was successively contracted in three issues - CENSORIA POTESTAT, CENS POTES, and CENS POT. According to metal analyses by Walker and more recently confirmed by Butcher and Ponting, Domitian's second coinage reform took place between the last two issues - the CENS POT issue being the first under the new standard. Curiously, this 'CENS POT' denarius has what appears to be 'al marco' weight adjustment marks, plainly visible on the reverse to the left of Minerva. Is it possibly during the minting of this first issue under the new standard the mint workers were extra careful with the coinage's weight? Whatever the case, the gouges must date to antiquity owing to the fact they are just as toned as the unblemished surfaces. An extremely rare coin. Engraved in the period's typical fine style. Feel free to post your 'al marco' coins!
Oh. I thought you said al marcovan. Seriously, though, I'd never heard of this. Got closer pix of the gouges? Interesting.
Gouging flans with a scorper for weight adjustment is better known for Republican issues. The tell-tale sign is the judder-like appearance of the gouge resulting from the hammer taps applied to the tool. The process was done al marco, meaning a batch of blanks were weighed and if the weight was too high the heavier looking flans were picked out by sight and adjusted with a scorper. I'm not 100% positive that this is what happened with the above denarius, but I have no other way to explain the mark. This is the first I've come across it on a Flavian coin.
Nice one David, as I commented on Forum I have a republican issue I believe to be weight adjusted but the gouge is smoother. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-142620
VERY nice capture @Roman Collector ! Super job on the Stannerd Scoop / Al Marco cuts! I only have one and it is from the Republic: Looks like Hercules got his leg ripped off by the Nemean Lion! RR C POBLICIUS Q f 80 BCE AR Denarius serratus 3.94g Rome Rev: Flan wgt control gouge Hercules strnglng Nemean lion club quiver Cr 380-1 Syd 768
Great coin David. I would have jumped on that one had I seen it. The scoop makes it an interesting coin as well.
What a very nice find. I have two - both L Papius. This one has many other issues but there is a big scoop out of the reverse. This one would have been nice if most of the reverse wasn't lost due to the lack of silver in the middle of the design.
My first guess is that the coin was overstruck on a Republican with the scoop but hit hard enough that all the undertype detail was erased.
The coin was really cool already. However, if it really was overstruck on an old republican, I increase my rating to, as my young son would say, super quadrillion cool!
An intriguing possibility. However, the Flavian mint was not known to overstrike older denarii. Recycling pre-64 denarii and mixing them with new silver sources was their thing. Then again, the Flavian mint also was not known to weight adjust 'al marco'. So, there we are. A coin that presents a lot of questions and no easy answers!
What's he consensus, was the coin reduced in weight before or after striking? Some appear before others after...
Normally when the weight was adjusted 'al marco' it was done before striking. That appears to be the case with the Domitian too.
