When tracking down rare Domitian's denarius variants one has to be very eagle-eyed! This one has a subtle difference that may go unnoticed by most folks. Domitian AR Denarius, 3.20g Rome mint, 88-89 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG GERM P M TR P VIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P; Minerva advancing right, brandishing spear, on capital of rostral column, accompanied by owl (M2) RIC 658 (R2). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -. Acquired from eBay, December 2020. Domitian did not take up the consulship in 89, therefore, this denarius is dated by TR P VIII between September 88 and September 89. The date can be further narrowed down by the 17th imperial acclamation. A military diploma dated 7 November, 88 records Domitian as IMP XVII, so this issue must have been struck briefly at the end of 88, perhaps just a month or so due to the rarity of the acclamation number on the denarii and the fact they were being awarded at a fairly rapid pace due to increased military activity along the Danube. This is an extremely rare variant with 'DOMITIANVS' fully spelled out. Normally the denarius obverse legends use the abbreviated 'DOMIT'. The variant spelling is known for 3 of the 4 Minerva types from this issue, only the Minerva advancing right (M1) is missing. Feel free to post your 'low key' rarities.
A nice acquisition. DOMITIANVS written out rather than just DOMIT, a rare variant occurring only in this issue: I wouldn't call that low key!
Very cool rarity and I am in love with the reverse! Here's my Loki Rarity Seleucus I AR Hemiobol, Antioch on the Orotnes 300-281 BCE 0.49 gr 8MM OBV: Omphalos on Macedonian Shield. Rev: BA έE, elephant head right. Dotted border. Left field N Ref: SC 14 Ex: Ares
I do have another 'DOMITIANVS' from this issue, although it is fairly wretched. Domitian AR Denarius, 2.97g Rome mint, 88-89 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG GERM P M TR P VIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P; Minerva stg. l., with spear (M4) RIC 662 (R2). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -. Ex Harry N. Sneh Collection.
Nice find David, here's mine from the same series RIC 657... IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII Laureate head right IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P Minerva standing right on capital of rostral column, with spear and shield; to right, owl Rome, Sept 14, 88 AD- Sept 13, 89 AD 3.28g RIC 657 (R). RSC 247. A scarce reverse variant.
Awesome catch David. I am always on the lookout for coins from this issue. My D661 is vg at best so I will not post it here. I have been looking for a denarius with the Domitianvs legend for a while and I am always looking for the IMP XVII coins. It also helps that your coin is rather attractive as well. If you collect these Domitian rarities you need to be willing to patiently examine thousands of coins because these are very often misattributed, even by very reputable auction houses.
Very nice catch! I know @David Atherton has seen this before but here's my verison of the same M2 type but the first issue of the type if I'm not misstaken? Domitian, Denarius Rome mint, 83 AD, March - 13 September Obv. IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M Rev. TR POT II COS VIIII DES X P P Minerva stg. R. on capital of rostral column, with spear and shield; to r., owl RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 164
