Recently, I was able to obtain a very rare Domitian as Caesar denarius. I've been wanting one of these for quite sometime! Domitian as Caesar AR Denarius, 3.17g Rome mint, 73 AD (Vespasian) RIC 539 (R). BMC 122. RSC 665. Obv: CAES AVG F DOMITIAN COS II; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: No legend; Domitian on horse l.; cloak flying out behind, r. hand raised, sceptre in l. Acquired from NumisCorner, June 2018. This is the first denarius struck at Rome for Domitian as Caesar. Fittingly, 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), which was the normal conduct for a young prince on such occasions. The type was struck in three variants: firstly, with a clockwise obverse legend and DOMITIAN fully spelled out, as we see here. Secondly, it would be shortened to DOMIT, with the legend still running clockwise. Lastly, the legend direction would change to counter clockwise with DOMIT. The first two variants are quite rare, the last relatively common. On this coin we see a cloak flying out from behind Domitian. This interesting detail only appears on a few coins of the first variant and does not show up on subsequent issues of the type. Here are my examples of the other two variants. Domitian as Caesar AR Denarius, 3.46g Rome mint, 73 AD (Vespasian) RIC 541 (R2). BMC 129 var. RSC 664. 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. Ex Gemini X, 13 January 2013, Harry N. Sneh Collection, lot 701. = Helios, ebay, 29 November 2010 (A. Lynn Collection). Domitian as Caesar AR Denarius, 3.15g Rome mint, 73 AD (Vespasian) RIC 680 (C). BMC 129. RSC 664. 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. Ex Berk 146, 29 November 2005, lot 363.
Nice collection David! I really enjoy seeing and learning about the different varieties you present. If I had to choose one Flavian as a favorite I guess it'd have to be Domitian as the other two were fully responsible for the destruction of the Second Temple, but Domitian wasn't actually there. Here is an article I found interesting and informative: The Jewish War and Rome's Urban Renewal
Congrats on another great coin David, you have some very interesting coins with wonderful history behind them.
Thanks for the interesting link. It's a good summarisation of modern scholarship concerning the Jewish War and Flavian propaganda - in which the above coins no doubt played a small role.
What a great coin, David. Congrats! The other two are lovely as well. I have an example of the common one and notice that for this issue the reverse seems to come in two distinct styles, those like yours where the anepigraphic reverse design is larger and takes up most of the flan, and others like mine where it is smaller.
DOMITIAN (Caesar, 69-81). Denarius. Rome. Obv: CAES AVG F DOMITIAN COS II. Laureate head right. Rev: Domitian on prancing horse left, raising hand and holding sceptre. RIC² 539 (Vespasian). Condition: Very fine. Weight: 2.74 g. Diameter: 19 mm.
Domitian as Caesar. 70-81 AD. Denarius, 3.46g. (h). Rome, 73 AD. Obv: CAES AVG F - DOMIT COS II (clockwise) Head laureate right. Rx: No legend, Domitian, togate, without flying cloak, on horse prancing left, raising right hand and holding scepter topped by human bust in left. RIC 541 (R2). Cohen 664 (5 Fr.). BM 129 var. Paris 105 var. Interesting portrait. VF. Ex Harry N. Sneh Collection, purchased from Helios, eBay, 29 November 2010 (A. Lynn Collection) . This is the second earliest denarius struck for Domitian as Caesar, with the obverse legend still running clockwise but now shortening DOMITIAN to DOMIT and breaking above the portrait, and without the cloak flying from Domitian's shoulder on the reverse. Very rare: RIC 541 cites this denarius from Oxford and Vienna and Harlan Berk had a specimen in stock a number of years ago, but there are no examples in BMC, Are both examples commeratives the war, there are 2
The type itself, regardless of variant, commemorates Domitian's role in the Triumph. I have illustrated all three variants in my first post.
I wonder how much of this was engraver's whim? For instance, the cloak on the OP coin - it's very likely the cloak was on the very earliest version of the type. Later, the type was simplified by the disappearance of the cloak. Was this minor change due to the engravers tiring of depicting it or was this direction from the 'top'? Without surviving mint records, our efforts to figure out such questions are almost futile. It's fun to think about them though.
Speaking of cloaks, I recently acquired this scarce Roman Republican AR Denarius, Crawford 198/1. The primary marker for the type is the shape of the Dioscurus' cloak. Specifically, the cloak is longer at the top than the bottom, looking like a wing. These are frequently misattributed as common Crawford 53s. In fact, I bought this coin as a misattributed 53. The reverses of these coins are rarely so well-centered to clearly show the three-sided frame around ROMA. Rome. The Republic. Anonymous, 157-156 BCE. AR Denarius (4.18 g; 18 mm). Rome mint. Obv: Helmeted head of Roma facing right with peaked visor and earring of long, single drop; X (mark-of-value = 10 asses), behind. Rev: The Dioscuri galloping right holding spears; two stars above; ROMA below in linear frame. Crawford 198/1; BMCRR (Italy) 390; Brinkman 43.
WOW, NICE @Carausius ! Love that Denarius. That be SLAMMIN'! I have an AE Triens from that series... Anonymous. 157-156 B.C. AE triens (21.7 mm, 6.72 g, 1 h). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Minerva right; four pellets above / ROMA, prow of galley right; four pellets below. Crawford 198B/3; Sydenham 302b. VF, cleaned. Ex RBW collection (not in previous sales); Elsen 37 (December 17 1994) lot 214. Very Rare, only two specimens in Paris. Sear 989 (hmmm...I saw 3, including mine, on ACSearch - they all said VERY Rare) Me: SCARCE
Is this number 5 ? came also from the Jean Elsen auction 1994 and another one from Jean: both were part of a big lot bought from CNG in 2016
