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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 8220792, member: 82616&quot;]I have a special fondness for Flavian coins struck at Alexandria, especially those of Domitian. Many of his reverse types are extraordinarily fantastical, such as my most recent acquisition: Domitian in a biga drawn by two centaurs!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1443719[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian</b></p><p>Æ Drachm, 26.52g</p><p>Alexandria mint, 95-96 AD</p><p>Obv: AVT KAI C ΘEOY YIOC ∆OMIT CEB ΓEPM; Head of Domitian, laureate, r., with aegis</p><p>Rev: LΙΕ; Emperor in biga of centaurs, r.</p><p>RPC 2726 (3 spec.). Emmett 253.15b3. Dattari-Savio 454 var.</p><p>Acquired from eBay, February 2022.</p><p><br /></p><p>This remarkable reverse type first appears under Domitian in regnal year 13. Domitian, either as Hercules or less likely Dionysus, is depicted riding in a biga drawn by two centaurs. Because the centaurs are each holding a small figure of Nike, we can understand this as a triumphal type. It was briefly struck at Alexandria for Domitian and later Trajan. The aegis portrait is an extremely rare variant with RPC citing only three specimens, all of which are in the ANS collection. Although the reverse&#039;s regnal year date is illegible in the exergue, I was able to die match the obverse with a regnal year 15 specimen (Cologne, erroneously catalogued in RPC as 2724, a standard laureate portrait without aegis).</p><p><br /></p><p>The exact meaning of the reverse is lost to us today, but the motif of centaurs drawing a biga was not unheard of in ancient iconography. In 139 BC a denarius struck by moneyer M. Aurelius Cotta struck a reverse featuring Hercules in a biga drawn by two centaurs. Later, the Great Cameo of Constantine the Great depicts the imperial family in a triumphal chariot drawn by two centaurs. It would not be a stretch to hypothesise this drachm is a triumphal type with the emperor taking on the attributes of Hercules.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please share your coins featuring centaurs, or any other mythological creatures.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you for looking![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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