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AR Denarius Of Domitian. Damnatio Memoriae?

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Valued Member

France
383 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2023  10:23 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add pastpost to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Dear friends,
I would like to present to you my last acquisition
AR denarius of Domitian. Quite a sharp portrait on obverse, but has traces of knife damage. Could it be Damnatio memoriae?


AR-Denarius-Of-Domitian.-Damnatio-Memoriae?
AR-Denarius-Of-Domitian.-Damnatio-Memoriae?
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Sap's Avatar
Australia
16808 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2023  6:47 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
No. Damnatio Memoriae would have obliterated his name, as well as his face. The face would also have been erased more thoroughly and utterly. Plus, the reverse figure on this coin is Pegasus, who is suffering from no such proscriptions, yet has the same deep scratch-mark through it.

Silver coins, generally, don't show much evidence of damnatio happening. The relative ease with which silver and gold coins could be melted and reminted, means any coins withdrawn under the damnatio would have been melted down, rather than officially defaced. It's almost always bronze coins that tend to show evidence of damnatio.

Which leaves the explanation of the deep scratches. To me, they look more like "plough damage" or "trowel damage", rather than ancient test-cuts. The freshness of the cuts,the ragged edges of the cuts where the chunks of silver torn away are still hanging on to the coin, clearly indicate the coin did not circulate after the damage was done.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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JohnConduitt's Avatar
United Kingdom
725 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2023  7:04 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add JohnConduitt to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
If I recall correctly, state-sponsored damnatio memoriae on coins took the form of removing the name and image from the die, rather than all the individual coins separately. Otherwise, you'd just melt them down, as that would be a lot quicker.
Pillar of the Community
United States
1120 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2023  9:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add travelcoin to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I agree -
Quote:
"plough damage" or "trowel damage"
Metal detecting jargon:
heartbreaker - A high quality coin or artifact that is found, but something bad is wrong with it (such as a digger scratch, or damage from a plow.)
Valued Member
France
383 Posts
 Posted 06/06/2023  03:27 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add pastpost to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Sap,JohnConduitt@- I think you are right. The coin has mechanical damage not related to Damnatio Memoriae.
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