An unknown eastern mint struck a spate of denarii in 76 which copied many contemporary types from Rome. Both RIC and RPC speculate it possibly could be Ephesus, citing a similar style with a previous Ephesian issue from 74 and the use of an 'o' as a mint mark. The issue is extremely rare. Domitian as Caesar AR Denarius Ephesus (?) mint, 76 AD RIC V1494 (R2), BMC V488 bis, RSC 47 var., RPC 1465 (1 spec.) Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. 'o' mint mark below neck Rev: COS IIII above; Pegasus r. This denarius copies the much more common Pegasus type struck at Rome for Domitian. His connection to this unusual type perhaps can be explained by Pegasus' association with Athena/Minerva, Domitian's patron goddess. These eastern denarii are understandably confused with the issues from Rome, however, they can be distinguished by style and the annulet (if visible) below the bust. Luckily for me, the auction firm which sold the coin did not distinguish it from the Rome type!
Wow, V-70 => man, that fricken coin is absolutely animal-coin-awesome!! (I'm totally jealous of that dawg!!) sadly, I still only have my one Domitian example (but frick, this baby loves to show-up to Domitian get-togethers!!) => ummm, perhaps our two sweet coins can be buddies?!! ... maybe I'll accidentally take the wrong coin home after the party? ... => coingrats on a very cool new addition!!
Wow David, another amazing coin. What a great find. I am still looking for a nice Domitian for my 12 Caesars. There are plenty to choose from but I would like something a bit unusual. I hope I can find one as nice as yours.
Outstanding portrait on that coin Steve. I love the "Flavian baroque' style. Domitian's engravers were certainly on top of their game with that one!
I know way too little to comment on where the annulet mint may have been located but the attribution to Ephesus seems odd since there are coins with the mintmark EPE with very different style.
Ephesus struck denarii for the Flavians from 69 to 74. The style and mint marks changed over time, as would be expected. Your Domitian is from 71, 5 years before the proposed Ephesian series of 76. Here is an example of Titus as Caesar from Ephesus dated to 74 with an annulet. Not so distant in time and perhaps style. AR Denarius Ephesus mint, 74 AD RIC V1469 (R2), BMC V477, RSC - , RPC 856 var. Obv: IMP T CAESAR COS III; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r., annulet at tip of bust Rev: CONCORDIA AVG; Ceres std. l., on ornate high-backed chair, with corn ears and poppy and cornucopiae; below throne, annulet; in exergue, star
Great example! Certainly the style had changed two years later. One of my biggest concerns regarding the Ephesus identification with the 'o' mint series from 76 is the sloppy way the series was produced. Blundered legends, mixed up types, and impossible titles are not unusual for the series. Between 69-74 Ephesus had better quality control than that. Why all of a sudden the isolated issue in 76 was so haphazard is really a mystery. Not to mention its purpose after a two year gap!
