Why coins of Vespasian are cheaper on average compared to Domitian’s?

Despite his father’s reign was shorter than him.

 

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Hmmm...

From my personal experience, I've noticed the opposite.

I've often found Domitian to be the cheapest to acquire of the '12 Caesars' among all (Imperial) types, with only the middle bronzes of Claudius somewhat relative.

When it comes to (comparable condition)denarii. While portrait coins of Julius Caesar are in a league of their own - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero silver are all pretty tough to find under 3 figures in better than 'fair' to 'fine' condition. The same applies for Galba, Vitellius and Otho.

Of the three Flavians.. My experience is that coins issued under Titus are the most expensive, then Vespasian, then Domitian. Of those latter two, it is possible to find coins in VF condition <$100.

Domitian/Minerva types seem to be a dime-a-dozen.

As always, YMMV.

 

Ditto

 

One thing might be that there are more worn coins of Vespasian and more high grade coins of Domitian. In equal grade, I agree with the Herodotus order but for some reason, I see more EF Domitians and more of the other two missing laurel wreaths. Was there another debasement round that pulled Domitian as Augustus out of daily circulation? People today prefer high grade but common coins and being the last ruler before a debasement will provide a higher number of those less worn coins. It is a question for those who study weight standards rather than coin designs.

 

Caligula and Claudius denarii in decent condition are difficult to find under four figures, never mind three.

From most to least expensive, it's Otho, Galba, and Vitellius.

I agree with @Herodotus re the relative cost of the Flavians.

 

Also: Augustus and Tiberius silver are generally less expensive than Claudius and Caligula, but more expensive than Nero.

I think that the four denarii I don't have out of the Twelve Caesars -- Julius Caesar, Caligula, Claudius, and Otho -- are the four most expensive in general.

 

condition and reverses are also very important in price determination.

 

Completely agreed on both accounts.

Of course type also comes in to play. (Minus J. Caesar lifetime) If I were to pick the most expensive and seemingly scarce of all of them(at least ones that are frequently up for auction), it would be Caligula.

 

Agreed. In fact, both Claudius and Caligula denarii seem to appear on the market less than those of Julius Caesar. I suspect that the high cost of Caesar's denarii has more to do with historical considerations than with actual scarcity.

 

I have put together 3 12 Caesars sets in silver denarii. I agree with @DonnaML concerning the relative scarcity of the 12 Caesar’s denarii.

As for Domitian, some of his denarii are plentiful and reasonably priced. I am speaking here of the standard 4 Minerva types. Also many of the types stuck for him as Caesar are affordable and easy to find. They are also quite interesting. Because Minerva dominated the denarii of Domitian, non Minerva types are eagerly collected and range from scarce to almost impossible to locate. When the rare types come up for auction, there is force competition for them and they can get very expensive. There may be 6-10 Domitian collectors willing to pay more than 1000 for a very rare denarius of Domitian, I am one of them and I know most of the others.

The common types are sometimes popular as well. I am referring to coins such as the Pegasus, the eagle reverse, and the goat reverse. These are great and interesting coins that can be had for very little money.

One last thing. If you do find yourselves interested in the denarii of Domitian, keep an eye out for gems such as left facing portraits on the denarii

 

I actually derive a lot of enjoyment out of information accumulation, documentation, and analyses with respect to my collections. I log sales for coins of interest in an excel workbook to help me determine expected costs and auction bids. Since I had it available, and it seems pertinent to this conversation, I figured I'd plot it up.

These are the average sales at each grade for NGC slabbed denarii for each emperor over the last 3 years. I tend to ignore price trend outliers and problem coins, so things like rare reverses, * 5/5 5/5 Fine Style coins, brushed coins, etc, etc are not included. Caligula was also left out because his denarii are outlandishly expensive and would have increased the Y-axis range to a problematic degree.

Also, I only document sales for each coin in a grade range that is in my wheelhouse. This is why each emperor doesn't cover the entire grade range.

 

Erm. I think most people would agree that coins in better condition will fetch higher prices than those in poorer condition, other things being equal. Think it goes without saying.

 

This is fantastic. Do you have sample size numbers? I'd love to see a high low bar at each grade - understanding pricing is very much a function of the specific coin and not the grade but it'd be interesting to see.

The chart is a very scientific sample of my denarius. I have found that Domitian is on the cheaper side with the Caesar caveat, but I'll admit the grading is very different.

 

There is a range of grades for each emperor, which of course tend to show an upward trend with grade. However, the better way to think about this data is, "This is the range for each emperor that sell for between $300 and $3,000"

This interpretation provides more than price with grade information, it allows comparison of average prices between emperors. The emperors that plot up and to the left are more expensive, and emperors that plot down and to the right are less expensive.

I'd have to go back and dig sample size out for each point on the plot. The sample size per point ranges from around 20 on the high side to 3 on the low side.