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RIC 1578 Domitian as Caesar [Vespasian]
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Æ As, 4.57g
Rome mint, 74 AD
Obv: CAESAR DOMIT COS II; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: S C in laurel wreath
RIC 1578 (R2). BMC -. BNC -. RPC 2003 (0 Spec.).
Acquired from Forvm Ancient Coins, January 2020.
An extremely rare orichalcum As struck for Domitian Caesar under Vespasian in 74 AD. Traditionally the issue has been attributed to various Eastern mints, however, recent scholarship has shown that it was produced in Rome. Style, die axis, metal, and circulation pattern all point to a Western coinage, despite the 'Eastern' flavour of the reverse designs. T. Buttrey in the RIC II.1 Addenda wrote: 'There is nothing like this series in the whole of Roman imperial coinage. It is a deliberate act of Orientalism, imposing the flavour of the East on a Western coinage'. This particular As featuring a right facing portrait is rarer than the much more common left facing portrait. Missing from both the BM and Paris collections.
Beautiful patina and fine style.
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