RIC 658 Domitian

AR Denarius, 3.20g
Rome mint, 88-89 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG GERM P M TR P VIII; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IMP XVII COS XIIII CENS P P P; Minerva advancing right, brandishing spear, on capital of rostral column, accompanied by owl (M2)
RIC 658 (R2). BMC -. RSC -. BNC -.
Acquired from eBay, December 2020.

Domitian did not take up the consulship in 89, therefore, this denarius is dated by TR P VIII between September 88 and September 89. The date can be further narrowed down by the 17th imperial acclamation. A military diploma dated 7 November, 88 records Domitian as IMP XVII, so this issue must have been struck briefly at the end of 88, perhaps just a month or so due to the rarity of the acclamation number on the denarii and the fact they were being awarded at a fairly rapid pace due to increased military activity along the Danube. This is an extremely rare variant with 'DOMITIANVS' fully spelled out. Normally the denarius obverse legends use the abbreviated 'DOMIT'. The variant spelling is known for 3 of the 4 Minerva types from this issue, only the Minerva advancing right (M1) is missing.