Numismatic and History Discussions > Coin of the Day

Vespasian 'o' Mint Denarius Mule

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David Atherton:
The Flavian denarii struck at the mystery 'o' mint in Asia Minor are extremely coveted by collectors. The series is riddled with mint mules - none more unlikely than this Domitian Caesar PRINCEPS IVVENTVT Spes type struck for Vespasian. I am very pleased to share it here!

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=184163

In hand.

https://youtu.be/t9WUrlXXvE8?si=8YSWGjrQV5NkRSjs

As always, thank you for looking/watching!

ancientdave:
Excellent find, David!

gallienus1:
I didn't even know about the "mystery" mint in the east striking Flavian denarii! Trust you to be able to track down an excellent example David! Looking at it now, I can see similarities to the more "classic" Ephesian style. But I would probably not have noticed the subtle style difference unless you had pointed it out. What is clear is the slightly larger portrait in relation to the flan. I really like that characteristic, because I'm a portrait lover, although I can see the obvious difficulty, unless the strike is super well centered and the flan surface area large enough, you are likely to miss out on some of the legend, which has happened on your example.

To me this is a small price to pay for the larger portrait, but what is that hinting at? Perhaps for political reasons it was more important to have a clear, easily identifiable portrait of the emperor than to have complete legends in Latin, when the literate population of the area was more than likely to be Greek. Just a thought.

A very nice and very interesting addition to your collection. 

David Atherton:

--- Quote from: gallienus1 on September 20, 2023, 08:13:10 am ---I didn't even know about the "mystery" mint in the east striking Flavian denarii! Trust you to be able to track down an excellent example David! Looking at it now, I can see similarities to the more "classic" Ephesian style. But I would probably not have noticed the subtle style difference unless you had pointed it out. What is clear is the slightly larger portrait in relation to the flan. I really like that characteristic, because I'm a portrait lover, although I can see the obvious difficulty, unless the strike is super well centered and the flan surface area large enough, you are likely to miss out on some of the legend, which has happened on your example.

To me this is a small price to pay for the larger portrait, but what is that hinting at? Perhaps for political reasons it was more important to have a clear, easily identifiable portrait of the emperor than to have complete legends in Latin, when the literate population of the area was more than likely to be Greek. Just a thought.

A very nice and very interesting addition to your collection.

--- End quote ---

Thanks Steve! Your insights are always appreciated.

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