Occasionally during the Flavian era, branch imperial mints would repeat reverse designs originally struck at Rome. Normally, these issues would be somewhat contemporaneous with each other. That is not the case with my latest coin. Domitian as Caesar RIC-1288 [Vespasian] Æ As, 8.03g Lyon mint, 77-78 AD Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS V; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.; globe at point of bust Rev: S C in field; Domitian on horse l.; r. hand raised, sceptre in l. RIC 1288 (C). BMC 875. BNC 886. Acquired from Incitatus Coins, November 2020. This Lugdunese As struck for Domitian Caesar in 77-78 copies a common type originally struck on the precious metals for the young prince at Rome in 73. It commemorates Domitian's appearance at Vespasian and Titus' joint Jewish War Triumph - 'while taking part in the Judaean triumph, he rode on a white horse' (Suetonius, Domitian, ii). Curiously, Mattingly in BMCRE describes the reverse as Domitian 'holding vertical sceptre with human head'! It's a mystery why a type struck at Rome several years previously was resurrected by the Lugdunum mint for this issue of Domitian asses. Here is an example of the original Rome mint proto-type in silver. Domitian as Caesar RIC 541 [Vespasian] AR Denarius, 3.46g Rome mint, 73 AD Obv: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: No legend; Domitian on horse l.; r. hand raised, sceptre in l. RIC 541 (R2). BMC 129 var. RSC 664. BNC 105 var. Ex Gemini X, 13 January 2013, Harry N. Sneh Collection, lot 701. = Helios, ebay, 29 November 2010 (A. Lynn Collection). Do you have a 'rerun' to share?
As a follow-up to this, does anyone know of another coin depicting a sceptre topped with a human head? I would like to know! The description baffles me.
There is always this Cohen 53 tessera. Here an example from cng, https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=67938
A nice "rerun" pair @David Atherton. Here's a reverse twist on "rerun" with a provincial mint pre-dating a Roman issue. With about 150+ years between these coins - the much earlier coin a Roman republican provincial and the second coin a Rome issued denarius, some themes remained popular for a long time: Epirus, Korkyra, circa 229-48 BC, AR didrachm Obv: Wreathed head of Dionysos right Rev: Pegasus flying right; monogram above, prow and monogram below Ref: SNG Evelpidis 1931–2; HGC 6, 65 Q. Titius, 90 BC, AR Denarius, Rome mint Obv: Head of young Bacchus (or Liber) right, wearing ivy wreath Rev: Pegasus springing right on tablet inscribed Q•TITI Ref: Crawford 341/2; Sydenham 692
