Domitian Denarius 82 CE (First Issue)

Domitian AR Denarius

Rome Mint 82 CE (First Issue)

Obv: Laureate head right, IMP CAES DOMITIANUS AVG PM

Rev: Altar garlanded and lighted, TR POT COS VIII P P

RIC 94 (R) BMC 32, RSC 598

Purchased privately, March 1, 2019

A couple of weeks ago a friend reached out to me and asked if I might be interested in buying a few rare denarii of Domitian. I chose this one. The other 2 were interesting as they were rare dating combinations for the Minerva reverse, but I chose this one because I loved the look of it.

I really like these early issues of Domitian as Augustus. This reverse type is rare for Domitian as Augustus. This issue occurred just before the coinage reforms of Domitian later in the year. In these reforms the fineness of the denarii was increased to nearly 100%.

I am very pleased to add this interesting type to my collection. I am having a lot of fun tracking down these rare denarii of Domitian. I have found out, and this post shows, that there is more to Domitian denarii than Minerva reverses.