In the denarii of Domitian the Minerva reverse are extremely common as a whole. However, within the Minerva series there are some rarities that do not turn up very often at all. Such is the case with this coin. On the surface it looks like any other Minerva denarius. However, one needs to look closer. During 88-89 Domitian fought many battles. After these battles he was awarded acclamations including imperial acclamations. During 88-89 Domitian went through many imperial acclamations. Some of them were struck for only a few days before the next imperial acclamation was awarded. Some of the rare acclamations included IMP XVI (I have posted one of these before) and the current coin IMP XVIII. RIC estimates from the hoard evidence that this coin may have been struck for about 38 days. In the case of IMP XVI it may have been struck for as few as 7-8 days. The coin has some wear but I could not pass up this rarity. It is a lot of fun to track down these coins. One thing in the favour of the flyspecking collector is that many people just pass on these coins without doing the research on them. Another issue is that the legends are long and complex and this means that misattributions are very common for the coinage of Domitian. It really helps to become very familiar with the references for these coins. In particular RIC II has become essential to my pursuit of these coins. Note that this coin is not in BMC or RSC. If you are interested in coins of Domitian and you see one of these with IMP XVIII, grab it while you can. Domitian AR Denarius 88 -89 CE 19mm., 2,83g. Obv: Head laureate r; IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM PM TR P VIII Rev:Minerva stg. L with spear; IMP XVIII COS XIII CENS PPP RIC 666 (R2) BMC—RSC-- Purchased from Savoca auctions June 23, 2019
I love to flyspeck at Savoca's Blue auctions, because the coins are unattributed and often pass unnoticed by bidders who are more interested in grade than rarity.
Well done Andrew! The most appropriate coin I can add is my own RIC 666. Domitian AR Denarius, 3.46g Rome mint, 88-89 AD RIC 666 (R2). BMC p. 331 note. RSC 247a. Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XVIII COS XIIII CENS P•P•P; Minerva stg. l., with spear (M4) Acquired from Lancelot Coin Co., eBay, March 2016.
