A few days ago I was contacted by another Flavian collector who was selling 2 Domitian PONT denarii. We made a deal and the coins are on the way. The PONT denarii are very special to anyone who specializes in the coins of Domitian. They were struck for a very brief period of time and they are all very rare to extremely rare. To illustrate, all PONT denarii are either R2 or R3. In the newest RIC II part one this means very few examples known to the authors or only one example known to the authors. I have to say that it looks like the given rarity is fairly accurate because these coins appear very infrequently on the market. I know exactly 4 collectors who care about these coins. To others they may appear to be interesting oddities, but to me they are important witnesses to Domitian's first year as Augustus.
I love many things about the coins themselves. First is the provenance. Both coins were owned by Harry Sneh.
The first coin is RIC 21. This is actually my second example of this coin. This is highly unusual as it is difficult enough to find one example never mind 2. Below is the coin I just acquired. I think it is safe to say that the new acquisition is a considerable upgrade.
Domitian AR Denarius, 81 CE (Group 3)
3.24g
Rome mint, 81 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG PONT; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: COS VII DES VIII P P; Curule chair, wreath above
RIC 21 (R2). BMC p. 299 note. RSC 58
Ex: Harry N. Sneh Collection
Ex: David Atherton Collection
As for the second coin. It is also very special. It is RIC 34 (R3)- 1 example known. This new acquisition coin is unsurprisingly a double die match to the RIC plate coin. I can find no other examples of this coin anywhere. As far as I know, this coin is the second one known.
Domitian AR Denarius, 81 CE (Group 3)
3.23g
Rome mint, 81 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG PONT; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: COS VII DES VIII P P; Seat, draped; above, winged thunderbolt
RIC 34 (R3). BMC -. RSC -
Ex: Harry N. Sneh Collection.
Ex: David Atherton Collection
Posted 10/07/2019 10:09 pm
