A Thousand to One Denarius?

Domitian as Caesar under his father Vespasian coined his own issue of denarii. The types were unique to him and not struck for Vespasian or Titus (unless accidentally!). Left facing portraits start to appear in the mid 70s and are rare for Vespasian, very rare for Titus as Caesar, and exceedingly rare for Domitian as Caesar.

Here is one of those exceedingly rare coins.


Domitian as Caesar
AR Denarius
Rome Mint, 77-78 AD
RIC V958 (R3), BMC -, RSC -
Obv: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: COS V; Horseman, helmeted, in military dress, cloak floating behind him, on horse prancing r., with r. hand thrown upwards and back

Second known example of this type with left facing portrait and a die match with the unique RIC plate coin. These left facing portraits seem to have been struck at a ratio of 1:1000 with the common right facing! Not only rare, but, IMHO, the portrait is outstanding! The meaning of the reverse type is puzzling - is the horseman Domitian, Mars, or some other figure?

 

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Amazing coin David. I do not think I have ever seen a left facing Domitian. Congratulations on a great addition.

 

Awesome coin!

 

Wow => sweet, V-70 ... ummm, is that your coin?!! (yummy, yummy!!)

 

I am proud to say it is. I thought I would never see one of these in trade!

 

Even rarer than Tacitus's left busts :3

 

very nice i say this type also on FORVM on sale, interesting reverse,
tekst from FORVM.
In 71 A.D., Vespasian and his sons celebrated the vanquishing of the Jews with a triumph in Rome. The Jewish historian Josephus was present at the festivities and noted, "It is impossible to do justice in the description of the number of things to be seen and to the magnificence of everything that met the eye..The greatest amazement was caused by the floats. Their size gave grounds for alarm about their stability, for many were three or four stories high..On one float the army could be seen pouring inside the walls, on another was a place running with blood. Others showed defenseless men raising their hands in entreaty, firebrands being hurled at temples or buildings falling on their owners. On yet others depicted rivers, which, after the destruction and desolation, flowed no longer through tilled fields providing water for men and cattle, but through a land on fire from end to end. It was to such miseries that the Jews doomed themselves by the war..Standing on his individual float was the commander of each of the captured cities showing the way he had been taken prisoner..Spoil in abundance was carried past. None of it compared with that taken from the Temple in Jerusalem..The procession was completed by Vespasian, and, behind him, Titus. Domitian rode on horseback wearing a beautiful uniform and on a mount that was wonderfully well worth seeing..." Perhaps this coin depicts Domitian as he was on that day?

 

Gosh, that's a fantastic portrait. Congrats on the rare score!

 

A reverse type was struck for Domitian in 73 AD commemorating this very event. The coin in question was struck 4 or 5 years later and seems to represent something entirely different. Mattingly in BMCRE II proposes it is Mars, which I suppose is just as good explanation as any.

 

cool coin V70...i wasn't even familiar with that reverse type. i see there are currently two on vcoins...so even the usual type doesn't grow on trees exactly.

congrats to you.

 

What else can be said? This is an outstanding piece and one most of us would like to be able to call our own. Congratulations.

 

Well done V70, awesome find!!!

 

Wow! Hats off to you and your fantastic coin!

 

Awesome addition!

 

Impressive coin, Vespasian.

Mmmm. I have a left facing Domitian but because it is an As, I am guessing that it doesn't count, eh?

 

Left facing portraits for Domitian are not rare in the bronze issues. Which makes it all the more puzzling why they are so rare in silver!

 

Yes, I thought as much. One day i might know what to look for.

 

It would be very interesting to know the meanings, if any, of left facers over the years. Certainly there were times where both were issued regularly and some where left was the usual with right being rare. In a very few cases we have something that makes sense. When Constans and Constantius II started the Fel Temp Reparatio issues with three denominations, the middle size was left facing making the similar sized coins quite clearly separated. Several rulers have scarce to very rare left facers leaving us with the question why. I was not even aware of the Domitian option. I do have Septimius and Geta shown here often before. Hadrian is relatively common both ways but more common right while Nero still favors right but is closer to even. Is any of this random? Has anyone seen the question discussed in the literature?

 

Doug, you bring up some interesting questions which I hope someday will be answered. To date I have not seen the matter discussed.

But, if these minting practices were random and done by chance, we may be waiting a long time.

 

Lovely portrait, sweet coin! He even seems to be disgrunted! I know you are not.