This arrived today and I am very happy with it. It has some hardened dirt on it but I will leave it as it is. I like the look of it. Many thanks to @Victor_Clark for the effortless purchase, the fast shipping and exemplary service. I have been interested in when the titles for Domitian changed in his early months of rule. I wanted a coin with COS VII DES VIII. Group 2 denarii have PP COS VII DES VIII, but they are very rare (check @david Atherton’s posts as he has one). However, group 3 denarii are more accessible. The legend is different however. Rather than having the PP title at the beginning of the legend the PP title is at the end. The legend on group 3 denarii reads: COS VII DES VIII PP. The coin I bought from Victor is a group 3 denarius with this legend. Domitian A.D. 81 AR Denarius 18x19mm 3.2gm IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M; laureate head right. COS VII DES VIII P P; Seat, draped; above, semicircular triangular frame decorated with three crescents. RIC II Rome 32 Purchased from Victor Clark
Nice find! Like you said in the previous thread, having RIC is a must for anyone interested in Flavian coinage and Domitian in particular. I used to think his coinage was boring and had few Domitian's in my collection. Since getting RIC that has changed! Finding the gems buried in all those Minerva reverses is actually quite fun and these early coins are pretty cool too. Here are my COS VII DES VIII: RIC 26 Domitian denarius IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M Laureate head right COS VII DES VIII P P Dolphin coiled round anchor Rome 81 A.D. (3rd group) 3.3g RIC 26 (R), RSC 63 RIC 48 Domitian IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG PM Laureate head right TR P COS VII DES VIII Curule chair, wreath above Rome, September 13-December 31, 81 AD 3.5g RIC 48 (C) RIC 70 Domitian Denarius IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG PM Laureate head right COS VII DES VIII P P Seat draped, above winged thunderbolt Rome, September 13- December 31, 81 AD RIC 70 (C) 3.39g 10 reverse dies known with this paticular obverse type from a die study of 178 specimens.
Very nice coins Jay. Agreed. I have had a ton of fun searching through listing looking for gems. RIC has been indispensable.
In nearly 16 years of collecting Flavian coins I've only been able to obtain three of Domitian's group 2 denarii from 81. I'm not holding my breath for the next one. Group 3 isn't much more common either. Sorting out the chronology of Domitian's pulvinar series is a vexing problem. I believe it partly hinges on when he was given the Pontifex Maximus title. RIC 1 isn't necessarily the first coin struck for Domitian as Augustus. The abbreviation 'PONT' for Ponitfex Maximus must have come early in the rapid sequence of titles Domitian employed on his denarii in 81 and likely was short lived if its rarity is any indication. The more usual 'PM' soon followed and was used for the remainder of the reign. The records of the Arval brothers do not show Domitian as Pontifex Maximus by 30 October 81, so presumably he acquired the title in either November or December. However, there is a problem. The group 2 and 3 denarii lack the title TR P but record Domitian as P M - he is recorded as TR P on many of the 'PONT' denarii. I'm at a loss to explain it. The reverse dies lacking TR P continued to be used until the end of 81 alongside others that display it! RIC notes the chronology is not precise with these issues from 81 and they are grouped only for 'convenience'. Judging by the rarity of the Group 2 and 3 denarii they could not have been struck for any length of time. Possible sequence of titles in 81: Obv: IMP CAESAR DOMITIANVS AVG IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG PONT IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG PONT & IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMIT AVG PONT IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M & IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMIT(IAN) AVG P M Rev: Group 1 - TR P COS VII Group 2 -PP COS VII DES VIII Group 3 - COS VII DES VIII P P Group 4 - TR P COS VII DES VIII P P At any rate, here is my RIC 32, an obverse die match with the OP coin. Congrats on your new addition Andrew!
That was an interesting read David. I must admit that as I was researching this coin in RIC I was baffled by the chronological problems in the first groups of denarii for Domitian. One nice thing is that there is plenty of room for further scholarship on this issue. I am still going to keep an eye out for a group 2 denarius. Maybe I will spot one someday. The other Domitian on my list is equally elusive. I would love to have a left facing portrait.
