I know we have several Flavian specialists here so I hope to get an answer to my question. The subject coin (from the last Robinson sale) is bold and pretty but not high grade. Many soft silver Flavian denarii are worn worse than this. I found quite a few from CNG much nicer than this one (a lot less wear) and not a great deal more (only 2-3x). They are not rare, it seems. I did not bid high but won suggesting low demand for the coin. As part of usual catalog searching, I looked in Millennium Sear Roman Coins and their values vol 1. 2624 matches and is priced in VF at $1760. Mine is not VF but really? Other reverses of Domitian as Caesar from Rome are similarly high but Eastern coins that I would value highly are a fraction of that price as are most Domitian as Augustus issues. What factor caused David Sear to price these coins so high but did not elevate results for recent auctions? Did someone find a hoard saturating the market? Other explanation??? The obverse legend CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS VI places the coin in 79 AD (COS VII followed in 80) and during the life of Vespasian (after he died, the legend would read DIVI AVG F). The reverse with legend PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS shows Salus leaning on a short column feeding a snake from a patera. I note that some dies of this type show Salus holding both snake and dish much higher in the air rather than resting on the column. Most of the examples I found online were well centered and well struck. This one is just normal. Post your Domitian as Caesar coins.
I can't answer your question but that's an awesome coin Doug. I only have the one Domitian as Caesar and it shares the same reverse legend as yours.
Doug, I have seen your reverse type fairly often. I see no reason for it to have such a high value. The whole series is probably at least uncommon but not rare.
Well, I certainly feel foolish now. Sear 2624 is an aureus at the bottom of page 483 while denarius Sear 2642 is at the bottom of page 485 and $120. Thanks.
They don't suffer so much for it when they don't have legends to wear away. I've always liked this one with the anepigraphic reverse. DOMITIAN, as Caesar AR Denarius. 3.1g, 19mm. Rome mint, AD 73-75. RIC (Vespasian) 680; RSC 664. O: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS II, laureate head right. R: Domitian togate on horse left, raising right hand and holding sceptre in left.
Lovely examples!! Since @Valentinian clarified the issue I'll just post two budget examples I have of Domitian as Caesar.
Maybe not a $1,760 coin, but a nice example nonetheless. The quality control at the mint was pretty good at the time, your 'normal' coin is proof of that. Interestingly enough, the presence of the reverse type of Salus on a coin struck during the last months of Vespasian's reign may hint that he may have been ill for a longer period of time than we are led to believe by Suetonius.
Doug, You have partially already answered your own question, but I can help a bit with the rest. When David was compiling the data for the rework of his references he reached out to most of the active dealers at the time. I was one among others who he asked input from (and yes, it does give my ego a tiny boost to see my name in the introduction of each volume). When the works were in rough form he sent all of us spreadsheets to enter price data for the grade categories (if I remember right there were grades lower than VF but that didnt make the cut in the final draft, but I could be wrong). Based on our own experiences we entered the prices as we knew them to be at the time. Obviously much of this would be based on private sales, auctions, buy or bid, and even simple opinion. It was a lot of work, with many thousands of types to input. While I dont know exactly how he managed the data I would assume he took an average of all the prices to end up with the entries for the books. Now, we can all see the obvious: those prices were a snapshot in time and certainly were outdated before the books even went into print. However, while some authors will not include values for this reason I think he was correct to add them as it gives us insight into not just the rarity of a type but the popularity as well. There are many factors which affect value and in general I think it relevant for likely several generations. I am not going to do the math but I would assume the values are roughly the same comparing the silver to gold issues (though gold has increased exponentially in value since these books were published). That another thread, and I despise math!
