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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,232 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1269 Posts |
I won this recently from Agora auctions. I has an interesting reverse and nice toning. It is from the very early days of Domitian as Augustus. I already had a Domitian denarius for my twelve Caesars set, but this one is an upgrade to that set. Domitian. AR denarius (18.1 mm, 3.36 g, 7 h). Rome mint, struck A.D. 81. Obv: IMP CAESAR DOMITIANVS AVG, laureate head right Rev: TR P COS VII, draped throne, back decorated with grain ears. RIC 3; BMCRE 2; RSC 554a. Ex: William Rosenblum Coins Ex:Agora Auctions March 22, 2016 lot 52-174  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Excellent coin. Congrats on the win.
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Moderator
 United States
34430 Posts |
I'm sure that this is a newbie question, but why is the writing backwards on the obv? I'm not a big collector of Romans, but I don't remember seeing the letters going counterclockwise and facing outwards on any of mine. Is the OP's coin typical?
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
Excellent coin, I like the toning on the reverse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
I'm rather intriqued by that honker. It looks to me like the die might've been recut so as to make it even more of a prominent feature. The chin, too, is awfully conspicuous. Overall, the effect is a bit cartoonish by the aesthetic standards of modern portraiture.
I have a Domitian denarius enroute, which also exhibits the counterclockwise obverse legend. I plan to post that one on this forum as soon as it arrives.
Colligo ergo sum
Edited by Lucky Cuss
04/09/2016 7:38 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
Quote:
I'm sure that this is a newbie question, but why is the writing backwards on the obv? I'm not a big collector of Romans, but I don't remember seeing the letters going counterclockwise and facing outwards on any of mine. Is the OP's coin typical?
I've never been able to find a reason, but it's pretty common on denarii of the Flavian dynasty (father Vespasian and brothers Titus and Domitian.) It must've fallen out of fashion right away because I don't remember seeing any at all from the following emperors, but I could be wrong. |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
1269 Posts |
@Lucky Cuss
Good question on his nose. The early portraits of Domitian had him resembling his brother and father who both had this distinctive nose. Later portraits of Domitian were more idealized so he looked a lot less like his relatives in the later portraits.
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
a counterclockwise obverse legend is frequent on early imperial coins .It is only on the obverse,I never saw a coin with such a reverse .It ended at the end of the first century.albert
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Moderator
United States
34430 Posts |
@bobL, chuy1530, and antwerpen2306 ok thanks for the info about the "backwards" legend. You inspired me to dust off my copy of Vagi's "Coinage and History of the Roman Empire", and this is what he says about the subject of obv legends:
"When present, the inscriptions typically run clockwise, but sometimes counterclockwise. Later in the Empire, in the 4th and 5th Centuries, an unbroken obverse inscription indicates junior rank, whereas one that is broken at the top indicates senior rank."
I hope that I haven't hijacked this post too badly...
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
Huh, I'd never known that it being broken or unbroken was ever anything more than a stylistic choice. Interesting.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,232 |
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Posted 04/09/2016 12:31 pm
