A Couple Of Rare Domitian Additions

I was browsing the unsold lots at Roma the other day and happened upon this one. I am trying to get as many coins from the first issue of 86 CE as I can. I already have a RIC 427 but it is rough. This is a nicer coin. With these rarities you have to take what the market offers.

Domitian AR Denarius. Rome, AD 86. First Issue
3.38g, 20mm, 5h
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P V, laureate head right
Rev: IMP XI COS XII CENS P P P, Minerva advancing right, holding spear and shield.
RIC 425..BMC 88, RSC 194
Roma Numismatics E-Sale 57. Thursday 30th May 2019 Lot 861






I was lucky enough to win this one in thursday's Roma auction. I have been looking for one of these for some time. A few months ago one popped up and I submitted an offer. I soon found out that a fellow Flavian enthusiast had also submitted an offer. The seller responded to us both with an offer to sell. I was in the process of responding when I received a notice that the coin had sold. My friend was a little bit quicker. Since then I have been looking for one of these and one appeared in the Roma E-Sale.


This coin did not catch a lot of attention. It is far from a perfect coin condition wise, and the coin was misattributed. The lot description stated that the coin was RIC 572 and gave the proper legends for 572. However, this coin is not RIC 572 it is RIC 573. The difference is in the obverse legend. On 572 the obverse legend includes the normal GERM. However, on this coin the legend reads GERMAN instead. I do not blame anyone for missing this, it is an easy mistake to make. Especially so since the vast majority of these coins contain GERM and not GERMAN. In fact, there are only 5 coin types with GERMAN in the legend; 4 denarii and an aureus. All of these coins are rare. The most common of them gets an R2 rating from RIC. (The highest rarity rating in the new RIC is R3 meaning only one known to the authors)

The rarity of the legend variation is not the only reason I love this coin. I really like the portrait as well. The reverse is a little rough, but still has a decent portrayal of Minerva.

Domitian AR Denarius. Rome, AD 88. First Issue
3.25g, 19mm, 6h.
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERMAN PM TR P VII, laureate head right
Rev: IMP XIIII COS XIIII CENS P P P, Minerva standing right with spear and shield. RIC 573 (R2)
Ex: Roma Numismatics E-Sale 59 July 11, 2019 Lot 799