Added A Few Flavian Rarities

So I have added a few rarities in the last little while and thought I would share.


A little while ago a friend sent me a PM to alert me to a rare Domitian that popped up on MA-Shops. When I saw it I did not hesitate I bought it immediately. It is rare for 2 reasons. First it has a rare obverse legend stating that Domitian is the son of the deified Vespasian. Second it has a rare left facing portrait of Domitian. Though left facing portraits show up on bronzes with some regularity, a left facing portrait on a denarius for Domitian is a rare sight indeed.



Domitian AR Denarius (81 CE) (Group 4)
Obv: Laureate head left; IMP CAES DIVI VESP F DOMITIAN AVG PM
Rev: Tripod with fillets, Dolphin above; TR P COS VII DES VIII PP
RIC 75 (R2) BMC Note p. 302 RSC 568d
Purchased from Monetarium on MA-Shops December 6th 2019




The next coin is a very rare early Titus as Augustus denarius. While the right facing version is obtainable without too many problems this one only comes to market very very rarely. One Flavian expert told me that this was the first one to surface in several years.

Titus AR Denarius 79 CE after July 1
Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, Laureate head left.
Rev: TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII P P, Capricorn left; globus below.
RIC 20 (R2), BMC p. 227 note, RSC 282
Ex: ANE Store on Vcoins




I am very excited about this one. It is R3-only one known by the authors of RIC. However, I know of one other. It sold in a Pegasi bid or buy auction in 2017. It is the coin in the acsearch results. Rarity is one thing but when the coin is a RIC plate coin-that gets me excited.

RSC makes reference to the Ashmolean museum regarding this coin. Since until recently there was only 1 known I guess that makes my coin the Oxford coin.



Titus Silver denarius, 74 CE
RIC II-2 695 [VESP] (R3, this coin), RSC II 161a, BMCRE II -, SRCV I -, Cohen I -, Hunter I -,
aVF/F, toned, nice portrait, reverses slightly off center, Rome mint, weight 3.160g, maximum diameter 19.3mm, die axis 180o, as caesar,
Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESP counter-clockwise from lower right, laureate head right;
Rev: PONTIF TR POT (priest, holder of Tribunitian power) counter-clockwise from lower right, Titus seated right on curule chair, long scepter vertical in right hand, palm branch in extended left hand;
this is the RIC plate coin! no recorded sales of the type on Coin Archives for the last two decades; extremely rare