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RIC 1446 Domitian as Caesar [Vespasian]
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AR Denarius, 3.04g
Ephesus mint, 71 AD
Obv: DOMITIANVS CAESAR AVG F; Bust of Domitian, cuirassed, seen from front, Medusa head on breast of cuirass, fold of cloak on left shoulder, head bare, r.
Rev: CONCORDIA AVG; Ceres std. l., on ornate high-backed chair, with corn ears and poppy and cornucopiae; in exergue, EPHE
RIC 1446 (C). BMC 470. RSC 38. RPC 847 (10 spec.). BNC 363.
Acquired from Lucernae, eBay, January 2015.
In Domitian's first imperial coinage issue he was given special treatment regarding the bust type chosen. The engravers at Ephesus depicted him cuirassed with a cloak draped over his left shoulder. Vespasian and Titus were not engraved so elaborately (although at Antioch Titus' bust is draped). Why this is so is a mystery. Unusually Domitian shares the same reverse types as Vespasian and Titus in this series, unlike at Rome where he largely had his own unique types. This Ceres reverse is probably the most common of his Ephesus denarii.
A worn coin to be sure, but the handsome bust shines through the wear.
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