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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 7757360, member: 82616&quot;]Although I collect all coins Flavian, I systematically collect the silver issues. So, I was quite thrilled to win several long sought after denarius &#039;white whales&#039; at the recent NAC auction. The following coin was by far the most important of them all: A personal grail/white whale with the additional benefits of being a RIC plate coin <i>and </i>one of the finest specimens of the type known <i>and </i>previously owned by the renowned Flavian collector Harry Sneh. I&#039;m simply overjoyed!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=vimeo]555644270[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1329306[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Titus as Caesar</b> <b>[Vespasian]</b></p><p>AR Denarius, 3.33g</p><p>Ephesus (?) mint, 76 AD</p><p>Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESP CENS; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. &#039;o&#039; mint mark below neck off flan</p><p>Rev: COS V; Bull, stg. r.</p><p>RIC 1483n (R2, this coin). BMC 486. RSC 56. RPC 1458 (3 spec.). BNC 374.</p><p>Ex NAC 125, 24 June 2021, lot 583. Ex Harry N Sneh Collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>The infamous &#039;o&#039; mint denarii (the &#039;o&#039; is often not visible but is quite bold on this specimen!) struck for Vespasian, Titus Caesar, and Domitian Caesar are thought to have been minted at Ephesus due to a similar &#039;o&#039; mint mark previously used at that mint. The types are the same as those struck somewhat contemporaneously at Rome. Mules are a hallmark of the series, perhaps indicating a lack of care in their production. This bull reverse copies a much more common Rome mint &#039;Cow of Myron&#039; proto-type. The exact sex of the bovine is in doubt - some catalogues call it a cow, others a bull. RIC also makes a distinction between &#039;humped&#039; and &#039;non-humped&#039; bulls and uses the above coin in the plates to illustrate the &#039;non-humped&#039; variant. Very rare, only a handful of specimens known. [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER]&nbsp; has one, I hope he shares it here.</p><p><br /></p><p>A plate comparison.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1329316[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Needless to say I&#039;m quite thrilled with this new addition! Easily it will make my Top Ten List for the year. And the other coins I won in the NAC auction are no slouches either. Stay tuned ...</p><p><br /></p><p>Please feel free to share your plate coins, bull/cows, or anything you feel is relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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