Certain denarii struck by Domitian in 88-89 bearing his 14th consulship can be rare. Those with TR P XVII are rare enough to be of note. AR Denarius Rome mint, 88-89 AD RIC 656 (R), BMC 147, RSC 246 Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P; Minerva adv r., with spear and shield (M1) Domitian did not take the consulship in 89, so this rare 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. Domitian's imperial acclamations were piling up fairly rapidly during this time period due to increased military activity along the Danube.
I was reading a reference that indicates, at his death in September AD 96, Domitian was in the course of his TR P XVI...(RE: Zander Klawans)----- and his COS XVII.....his last IMP XXI dated during 88 to 89 AD as well as his TR P X So my denarius must have been struck just prior to or during 89 AD Anyway, here's my sole Domitian:
Rome mint, 90-91 AD RIC 721 (C2), BMC 181, RSC 264 Domitian did not assume the consulship in 91, so this coin is dated by the tribunician title from mid-September 90 to mid-September 91. Nice example!
I sent my standing Minervas to my friend for his birthday. This is the favorite of what I have left. Domitian Denarius 80 AD (Under Titus) - CAESAR DIVI F DOMITIANVS COS VII, laureate head right / PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS, lighted & garlanded altar 19.1mm 3.55g
A wonderful example! The altar reverse has always been one of my favourite "pulvinaria" types struck for Domitian.
I remember pulvinaria from botany; had to look up the application of the word toward ancients. Awesome.
The pulvinaria types coined by Titus and Domitian are quite mysterious in meaning. Traditionally they have been attributed to a lectisternium held in the aftermath of the Vesuvian disaster of 79. More current scholarship attributes the series to a ceremony held for the opening games of the Colosseum (see RIC II 2007, N. T. Elkins 2006).
