Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;David Atherton, post: 4231142, member: 82616&quot;]I was very thrilled to have a second chance at this little beauty. Originally it was listed at auction in a group lot and I reluctantly decided to pass on it not needing or wanting the other coins in the lot. A week later it surfaced on its own at Vcoins. The goddess Moneta was giving me another chance and I didn&#039;t say no a second time.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s one of those coins that even at first glance a non-specialist can see there is something extraordinary about the reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1082001[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Domitian</b></p><p>AR Denarius, 3.16g</p><p>Rome mint, 88 AD</p><p>Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.</p><p>Rev: COS XIIII across field; Minerva adv r., with spear and shield (M1)</p><p>RIC 552 (R2). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -.</p><p>Acquired from Germania Inferior Numismatics, February 2020. Ex Spink 20120, 13 February 2020, lot 228 (part), The Michael Kelly Collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 88 AD Domitian struck a brief special issue of Minerva denarii with abbreviated legends and austere reverse designs. The reverses feature a shortened legend across field (here just the COS date) instead of the usual full legend begging from the lower left. All the coins from the issue are quite scarce, likely owing to the brief time span in which they were produced. RIC cites one lone example from Berlin. Perhaps the issue was struck in conjunction with a special event that year (the Secular Games?) and are commemorative in nature. Regardless, the mint soon returned the denarius to its conventional Minerva arrangement, hinting that these scarce issues were indeed struck for a special occasion.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have several coins from this series, which is quite a feat considering how rare they are in trade.</p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to share your rare reverse designs.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in