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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Orfew, post: 3316804, member: 74968&quot;]As many of you have probably noticed, I like coins with small differences. One board member refers to this as “flyspecking” I like researching and speculating as to the reasons for those small changes. As we all know sometimes a small difference can make a large difference when it comes to rarity and desirability. There are those of us who are attracted to these variations. For some it might be a mint mark, a designation of officina, a legend variation, or the placement of a device such as a star or crescent. Whatever the interest I continue to find these variations intriguing. Below are examples of coins of Domitian where small differences have for me made the coins desirable. All of these coins are relatively early. They begin with an interesting Domitian as Caesar issue under Vespasian in 76-77 CE and end with a coin that marks the beginning of the massive and dominant Minerva reverse series.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>First, Domitian as Caesar. RIC 921 with the Pegasus reverse is a very common coin and also a very attractive one. After all who does not want a coin with Pegasus. It just has a certain “wow” factor. Carradice and Buttrey state that this reverse was copied from a reverse on a coin of Augustus. (I know someone on here as one of these so please post it) They Also state that this reverse type is one of the most common coin types of the time period. What then could possibly make my coin any more interesting? My coin is RIC 922 and as opposed to 921 it is not common at all. What separates the 2 issues is the obverse legend. On RIC 921 the obverse legend reads <i>CAESAR AUG F DOMITIANUS, but on RIC 922 the legend reads CAES AUG F DOMITIANUS. This small change in legend results in a common coin becoming quite rare.</i></p><p>[ATTACH=full]879258[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Domitian as Caesar</i></p><p><i>AR Denarius</i></p><p><i>3.10 g</i></p><p><i>Obv: CAES AUG F DOMITIANUS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r</i></p><p><i>Rev: COS IIII, Pegasus standing r</i></p><p><i>RIC 922 (R2)</i></p><p><i>Acquired from Kolner May 2018</i></p><p><i>Ex: David Atherton collection</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The next coin is Domitian RIC 3. It is a rare coin but not excessively so. RIC 3 is part of the first issues for Domitian. The first 4 groups in the issue were all minted within a few months at the latest after Domitian assumed rule of Rome. It turns out that while group 1 denarii are somewhat uncommon as opposed to some very common later issues, group 1 denarii are far less rare than group 2 denarii. Group 3 denarii are also rare while group 4 denarii are generally more common but with a number of exceptions. What makes this coin interesting is that it was minted before many of Domitian’s titles were added. In group 1 denarii most of the coins have just the reverse TRP COS VII. It is not until very late in group 1 and early in group 2 that PP is added. My coin was probably minted in the first few weeks of Domitian’s rule. All of the first 4 groups of these denarii were minted between September 13 and December 31 of 81 CE.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]879257[/ATTACH] </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><br /></p><p>This next coin looks almost exactly like RIC 3. This coin was not published in RIC II Part 1 in 2007. This coin will be in the addendum to this volume. This coin is also published somewhere else. Sometime last year I sent the details and a photo of this coin for inclusion in the first issue of Koinon. It is on page 147. Now what small difference could have inspired me to chase and find this coin? On the reverse under the triangular frame there is a lituus (a device used in augury). This littus is not on RIC 3. These pulvinar types are a continuation of coins minted for Titus. On denarii of Titus both lituus and non-lituus varieties are known. I have seen a few of these coins with lituus but they are very uncommon. I think they might be more uncommon than the non-lituus versions.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]879255[/ATTACH] </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 beneath</p><p>the frame.</p><p>RIC 3 Var;; RSC 554a. </p><p>Ex: Akropolis Ancient Coins June 22, 2017.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>My fourth coin is my most recent purchase. I bought it from Victor Clark late last night. He has graciously granted me permission to use his photo here. As already stated I have been interested in when the titles for Domitian changed in his early months of rule. RIC 3 as described above does not have PP on the coins. There is only one group 1 issue that uses PP and this is only known for one example noted in RIC II part 1. That coin is RIC 6. PP is use for all group 2 denarii, but group 2 coins are notoriously rare. The change to PP was not the only reason I wanted a coin with this title. Group 1 denarii with one exception (RIC 6) use COS VII. I wanted a coin with COS VII DES VIII. Group 2 denarii have PP COS VII DES VIII, but they are very rare (check [USER=1969]@david[/USER] 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</p><p>[ATTACH=full]879260[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Domitian</p><p>A.D. 81</p><p>AR Denarius</p><p>18x19mm&nbsp; 3.2gm</p><p>IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M; laureate head right.</p><p>COS VII DES VIII P P; Seat, draped; above, semicircular triangular frame decorated with three crescents.</p><p>RIC II Rome 32</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The last coin I will present is the latest coin I have for Domitian. It was minted in 83 CE. It is notable for 2 reasons. First, it was minted after the currency reforms and so it made for nearly 100% silver. Secondly, it marks the beginning of a very large and consequential reverse type-Minerva. There were 4 different versions of Minerva, and the Minerva would dominate the denarii of Domitian for the rest of his rule. The Minerva reverse are by far the most common reverse type for Domitian. What then makes this next coin so special? It marks the beginning of what would become the dominant reverse type for Domitian. It also happens to be quite a rare type,</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]879256[/ATTACH] </p><p>Domitianus (81 - 96 AD). </p><p>Denarius. 83 AD Rome. </p><p>(20 mm 3.47 g)</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M. Head with laurel wreath on the right. </p><p>Rev: TR POT II COS VIIII OF THE XP P. Minerva with lance and shield on capital standing to the right, in front of it an owl. </p><p>RIC 164; C.606; BMC 4</p><p><br /></p><p>Ex: Silbury Coins January 28 2018</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If you have made it this far, thank you. I know not everyone likes “flyspecking” but it gives me an opportunity to track down rarities and look up numerous references. Tracking down the attributions and noting the differences is an interesting part of this hobby for me. Please post your coins of Domitian and any examples of tracking down coins with small differences.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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