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Author Topic: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii  (Read 1608 times)

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Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« on: January 18, 2019, 02:43:31 pm »
Hello everyone.

At a recent auction I came across a coin I'd never seen before. To be honest, I even ignored its existence before I checked my copy of RIC!

In fact, it's a one-time reverse, most likely struck from a single die: all the known samples (London, Paris, Oxford) share the same reverse die.

It is therefore not surprising that my coin goes the same way; not only that, it seems to me that there is a double die-match with the Paris specimen.

I was obviously thrilled to add it to my collection and am happy to share it here.

Alberto


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-152704

Offline okidoki

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2019, 02:50:47 pm »
congrats picture could be better though  :)
All the Best,
Eric
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Offline Jay GT4

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2019, 04:15:26 pm »
A great coin Alberto!

Offline orfew

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2019, 05:01:25 pm »
Nice catch Alberto. Congrats on adding this rarity to your great collection.

Offline Dominic T

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2019, 05:28:59 pm »
A fantastic catch. I took the liberty of posting your coin next to the London and Paris one for the comparison.
DT

Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2019, 05:35:22 pm »
Thanks guys and specially to Dominic: nice job.

Seller's picture is better than mine, but I make a point to upload my own.

Here it is, anyway.

Alberto


Offline curtislclay

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2019, 07:02:50 pm »
All four specimens seem to be from the same die pair: the three above and the cut-down Oxford spec., illustrated in RIC, which Oxford incidentally acquired from my own collection about thirty years ago.

It's a surprise to find this single Victory rev. die standing alone among Domitian's usual four Minerva types, which were repeated year after year on his denarii!

The type itself also has an unusual feature: with her left hand Victory grasps a fold of her drapery before her stomach, instead of shouldering a palm branch as she typically does. Moreover with her right hand she holds a branch, not the usual wreath. According to Schmidt-Dick's Typenatlas, this exact Victory type occurs only here under Domitian, and nowhere else in the Roman imperial coinage (type f2B/08, p. 129 and pl. 57).
Curtis Clay

Offline snapapuss

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2019, 08:09:34 pm »
I'll take solace in being the first to bid on it

steve

Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2019, 03:07:15 am »
All four specimens seem to be from the same die pair: the three above and the cut-down Oxford spec., illustrated in RIC, which Oxford incidentally acquired from my own collection about thirty years ago.

It's a surprise to find this single Victory rev. die standing alone among Domitian's usual four Minerva types, which were repeated year after year on his denarii!

The type itself also has an unusual feature: with her left hand Victory grasps a fold of her drapery before her stomach, instead of shouldering a palm branch as she typically does. Moreover with her right hand she holds a branch, not the usual wreath. According to Schmidt-Dick's Typenatlas, this exact Victory type occurs only here under Domitian, and nowhere else in the Roman imperial coinage (type f2B/08, p. 129 and pl. 57).

Thanks Curtis for your note, very informative as always.

Alberto

Offline okidoki

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2019, 06:56:38 am »
Thanks guys and specially to Dominic: nice job.

Seller's picture is better than mine, but I make a point to upload my own.

Here it is, anyway.

Alberto



Great  +++ +++
All the Best,
Eric
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Offline curtislclay

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2019, 10:46:17 am »
RIC p. 252 conjectures this might be a special commemorative type: "The Victory denarii are very rare, perhaps struck from a single reverse die, giving this the appearance of a special commemorative coin, perhaps marking a significant military victory, or the occasion of Domitian's double triumph of 89."

A typo in the RIC commentary: Victory is wrongly said to be holding a wreath. Correct in the catalogue text: "with branch".

Another detail worth mentioning: Victory's left leg, above which she grasps her drapery with her left hand, appears to be bare.
Curtis Clay

Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2019, 12:53:43 pm »
It reminds me somewhat the extra rare sestertius T 301A.

Alberto

Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2019, 01:14:56 pm »
...The Victory denarii are very rare...

That's right: one expects to find Victory on quinarii, not on denarii.

Alberto

Offline Parthicus Maximus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2020, 02:58:57 pm »
I am of course too late, but what a coin this is.  Before I found this thread I didn't even know about the type's existence.  Alberto your collection of Domitian rarities is truly unparalleled.  I wonder if this coin could be an indirect reference to Saturninus revolt?

Offline FlaviusDomitianus

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Re: RIC D 671: One of the rarest Domitian denarii
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2020, 03:11:43 pm »
Quote from: Parthicus Maximus on April 20, 2020, 02:58:57 pm
I am of course too late, but what a coin this is.  Before I found this thread I didn't even know about the type's existence.  Alberto your collection of Domitian rarities is truly unparalleled.  I wonder if this coin could be an indirect reference to Saturninus revolt?

Thanks Parthicus,

you gave me the occasion to return to this coin!

Actually I'm very proud of my collection, yet if you're talking about Domitian rarities you should be aware that in this Forum there are very strong competitors.

Best

Alberto

 

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