David Atherton Posted September 11, 2023 · Member Share Posted September 11, 2023 (edited) Error coins interest me ... and coins containing multiple errors greatly interest me! The Flavian 'o' mint produced such coins in abundance and they are quite coveted by collectors today. My latest addition is yet another ex Curtis Clay coin from that error-prone mint. Domitian as Caesar [Vespasian] Engraver's Error Mule AR Denarius, 3.41g Ephesus (?) mint, 76 AD Obv: CAES AVG F DOMIT COS III; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r., 'o' mint mark below neck Rev: ION (sic) MAX TR P COS V; Winged caduceus Cf. RIC 1491/1489A (for obv./rev.). BMC -. BNC -. RPC -. RSC -. Ex Harlan J Berk, MBS 224, lot 129. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Numismatic Naumann, E50, 5 February 2017, lot 515. An unknown eastern mint struck a spate of denarii in 76 which copied many contemporary types from Rome. Both RIC and RPC speculate it possibly could be Ephesus, citing a similar style with a previous Ephesian issue from 74 and the use of an annulet as a mint mark. The series is riddled with error coins, such as this rare Domitian Caesar engraver's error mule. Here we erroneously have 'ION' instead of 'PON' in the reverse legend. The ION (sic) MAX COS V is a muddled reverse incompatibly struck for Titus Caesar (he could not have been PON MAX). So, a misspelled erroneous reverse impossibly intended for Titus Caesar paired with a Domitian Caesar obverse. Three mistakes on one coin! Same obverse die as RIC plate coin 1491. Possibly the only known specimen. In hand. Feel free to share your error coins. As always thank you for looking! Edited September 13, 2023 by David Atherton 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted September 12, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted September 12, 2023 (edited) Thanks to the eagle eyes of @friedberg I now know the reverse actually reads COS V, a match with a Titus Caesar reverse, an even greater blunder! He was kind enough to put together a comparison image. Edited September 12, 2023 by David Atherton 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orfew Posted September 17, 2023 · Member Share Posted September 17, 2023 An absolutely fascinating coin! Congrats on this special acquisition 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted September 17, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 11 hours ago, Orfew said: An absolutely fascinating coin! Congrats on this special acquisition Thanks Andrew! You of all people know how special the 'o' mint coins are to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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