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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Orfew, post: 2863981, member: 74968&quot;]That aureus is simply stunning.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are 2 unusual denarii of Domitian.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As mentioned above by [USER=39084]@IdesOfMarch01[/USER] Domitian was the son of Vespasian. He became emperor after the death of Vespasian&#039;s other son Titus. Domitian was the last of the Flavian dynasty. Take a look at the obverse portrait on this coin. Domitian&#039;s Roman nose is quite prominent. On later issues the nose has been made less prominent. This is a good example of how emperors controlled their image by controlling their representation on the coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thiis coin is also interesting because some of Domitian titles are missing. The reason is that these had not been added by this point in his position as emperor. The use of COS VII dates this coin to the first month or so of his reign.</p><p><br /></p><p>Domitian. AR denarius (18.15 mm, 3.36 g, 7 h). Rome mint, struck A.D. 81.</p><p>Obv: IMP CAESAR DOMITIANVS AVG, laureate head right</p><p>Rev: TR P COS VII, draped throne, back decorated with grain ears. RIC 3; BMCRE 2; RSC 554a.</p><p>Ex: William Rosenblum Coins Ex:Agora Auctions March 22, 2016 lot 52-174</p><p>Purchased from Agora Auctions March 22, 2016.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]682898[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>At first glance, this denarius looks exactly like the last Domitian (RIC 3) that I posted above. There is one significant difference. Take a look at the reverse on this coin below, and the reverse on RIC 3 that I referred to above. On the in the photo below you will see the same triangular frame as RIC 3, but below the frame you will see a strange shape. It is a Lituus, a device like a crooked wand, used in augury.</p><p><br /></p><p>As is true with RIC 3, this coin was issued very early in Domitian&#039;s reign as Augustus. As such, the portrait on this coin has the same interesting nose as RIC 3. As for cataloguing, this variation does not appear in the major references. I think it makes sense to therefore call it RIC 3 Var (Variant).</p><p><br /></p><p>Note also that this type of reverse was also issued for Domitian&#039;s brother Titus. On the Titus denarii the variants with and without Lituus also exist.</p><p><br /></p><p>Domitian. AR denarius</p><p>(16.88 mm 3.02 g,). Rome mint, struck A.D. 81.</p><p>Obv: IMP CAESAR DOMITIANVS AVG, laureate head right</p><p>Rev: TR P COS VII, draped throne, back decorated with grain ears Lituus benea</p><p>the frame.</p><p>RIC 3 Var;; RSC 554a.</p><p>Ex: Akropolis Ancient Coins</p><p>[ATTACH=full]682896[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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