David Atherton Posted January 25 · Member Posted January 25 (edited) I took a chance with this one. Domitian achieved tribunician power for the 16th time on 14 September 96 AD. He was assassinated in a palace plot four days later on 18 September. In between those two dates the mint struck only one issue of denarii recording Domitian as TR P XVI, needless to say they are extremely rare! The Senate decreed Damnatio Memoriae within a day of Domitian's assassination which would have quickly halted production at the mint for his coinage. I believed this coin to be one of those elusive TR P XVI denarii. Read below to find out why I was wrong. 😞 Domitian AR Denarius, 2.96g Rome mint, 95-96 AD Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XV; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: IMP XXII COS XVII CENS P P P; Minerva stg. l., with thunderbolt and spear, shield at her l. side (M3) RIC 789 (C2). BMC 234. RSC 291. BNC 208. Acquired from Aegean, January 2024. I purchased this coin on a hunch that this could possibly could be RIC 819 due to a reverse die match with the Paris TR P XVI specimen (BNC 213) and crucially what appears to be a 'I' engraved above the 'V'. Unfortunately, in hand the mystery numeral is just a die flaw. At least I didn't pay too much for it! Do you have a numismatic 'mistake'? Misery loves company, I'd love to see it. 🙂 Thank you for looking! Edited January 25 by David Atherton 9 9 1 1 Quote
CPK Posted January 25 · Supporter Posted January 25 Too bad! But it was worth the chance. At least, as you say, it wasn't very expensive. I'll admit I once put a bid on what probably should have been an obvious fake, but thankfully (for me, anyway) I was outbid at the last moment. Described thus by the auction house: DOMITIAN (Caesar, 69-81). Sestertius. Rome. Weight : 19.03 gr Diameter : 32 mm 6 1 1 Quote
ambr0zie Posted January 25 · Member Posted January 25 @CPK - that was indeed an obvious fake. I was also initially thrilled about the idea of an unlisted Domitian sestertius. After a quick check and a confirmation from the specialists... it was pretty clear. I don't think I made too many mistakes or at least I like to think this. But here is a recent one that was a little different than what I was expecting. When seeing this I instantly remembered the type was discussed by our Faustina specialist. What I remembered - "a rare Faustina type". What it actually was - "the most common and popular Faustina denarius". Oh well. I do not regret this at all as the coin is beautiful and it was not expensive. 11 Quote
Finn235 Posted January 25 · Member Posted January 25 It sure as heck looks like an extra I above the V! Is that a feature in the handful of known coins? I made the cardinal sin of bidding not entirely sober on this one - totally missed that it was a fourree until it hammered! Thought it was horn silver, nor copper. Thankfully all the other bidders had their wits, so I won it at a reasonable price for a fourree of a nice issue. 8 Quote
David Atherton Posted January 25 · Member Author Posted January 25 1 hour ago, Finn235 said: It sure as heck looks like an extra I above the V! Is that a feature in the handful of known coins? I made the cardinal sin of bidding not entirely sober on this one - totally missed that it was a fourree until it hammered! Thought it was horn silver, nor copper. Thankfully all the other bidders had their wits, so I won it at a reasonable price for a fourree of a nice issue. IMHO, that is a pretty nifty mistake. You don't see plated examples of that type very often! 1 1 Quote
Benefactor kirispupis Posted January 25 · Benefactor Benefactor Posted January 25 I purchased this coin because I felt reasonably confident at the time I could place it at Myrmekion due to its similarity with the types of Pantikapaion and Phanagoria. Ionia, Myos c. 3rd century BCE Æ 9mm, 1.22g, 9h Turreted female head r. R/ Bow and arrow. Imhoof, KM p. 90, 3 However, after further investigation I determined this to be not possible. It's still an interesting coin, though, and I currently suspect it may belong to Mytilene. 4 Quote
Amarmur Posted January 25 · Member Posted January 25 I screwed up when buying this Bactrian drachm of Eucratides. The details are nice, but it doesn't fit in my collecting interests, and it is crystallized. I will probably sell it if anyone is interested in it. idk I like it but idk is crystallization like a death sentence for silvers like bronze disease for coppers? The thing is if it wasn't crystallized it would have been like a $500+ coin. 4 Quote
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