David Atherton Posted January 25 · Member Share 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 8 1 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted January 25 · Supporter Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted January 25 · Member Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn235 Posted January 25 · Member Share 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. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Atherton Posted January 25 · Member Author Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor kirispupis Posted January 25 · Benefactor Benefactor Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amarmur Posted January 25 · Member Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.