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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 3253800, member: 82616&quot;]Coming across any coins from Domitian&#039;s massive Minerva denarius series that are unusual can be very exciting. My latest addition is happily one of those fascinating coins!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]854466[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian</b></p><p>AR Denarius, 3.45g</p><p>Rome mint, 88 AD</p><p>RIC 562 (R). BMC 141. RSC 67.</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG GERMANICVS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.</p><p>Rev: COS XIIII across field; Minerva stg. r. on capital of rostral column, with spear and shield; to r., owl (M2)</p><p>Ex Spink eAuction 18055, 7 November 2018, The Michael Kelly Collection of Roman Coins part 2, lot 95.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 88 AD Domitian struck a brief special issue of Minerva denarii with unusual obverse legends and austere reverse designs. The obverse legends deviate from the usual formula, sometimes spelling out fully DOMITIANVS and/or GERMANICVS and lacking a TR P number. The reverses feature only a terse legend across field with the IMP number absent. Here is an example from this rare issue with GERMANICVS spelled out on the obverse and the consular number across field on the reverse. Why the mint was experimenting with the legends and the layout of the reverses in 88 is a mystery. Perhaps the issue was struck in conjunction with a special event that year (the Secular Games?) and are commemorative in nature. Regardless, the mint soon returned the denarius to its conventional Minerva arrangement, hinting that these scarce issues were indeed struck for a special occasion.</p><p><br /></p><p>For contrast, here is a &#039;normal&#039; contemporaneous Minerva.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]854468[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian</b></p><p>AR Denarius, 3.42g</p><p>Rome mint, 88 AD</p><p>RIC 572 (C3). BMC 115. RSC 235.</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.</p><p>Rev: IMP XIIII COS XIIII CENS P P P; Minerva, adv. r. (M1)</p><p>Ex Gemini X, 13 January 2013, Harry N. Sneh Collection, group lot 806. Ex Helios, November 2010 (A. Lynn Collection).</p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to post your &#039;deviant&#039; coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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