Domitian AR Denarius 76-77 CE

AR Denarius, 3.31g Rome mint, 76-77 AD (Vespasian) RIC 922 (R2). BMC - . RSC - . Obv: CAES AVG F DOMITIANVS; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: COS IIII; Pegasus, standing r. Ex: Koelner Munzkabinett 05/18 Ex: David Atherton Collection

I have have been looking for one of these for a while. The last one I found was misattributed as RIC 921. RIC 922 has "Caes" in the obverse legend instead of "Caesar". Even though it was misattributed the buyer was a Flavian specialist and knew what is was so I did not win it.

I so happens that a little while ago a friend, David Atherton, picked up his second example of this coin. You should check his Forvm Ancient Coins gallery, the coin is stunning. Last week David reached out to me after an exchange on Forum about the coin I missed, which included the person who bought the coin I missed. (Yes, ancient coin collecting is a small world.) Anyway, David made me a great offer, he was willing to sell me one of his 2 examples of this coin. My sincere thanks goes out to David for his willingness to reach out and offer me this rare coin. So here it is, my Domitian Pegasus.

The portrait on this coin is in an unusual style, and this was one thing that attracted me to the coin. Also, of course, there is the Pegasus reverse. Who does not like a Pegasus on a coin. The Pegasus has some nice detail remaining.