Extremely Rare Domitian Denarius

I was very lucky to get this one. I know there were other collectors who wish they would have gotten to it first.

Anyone who has ever gone looking for one knows how rare the left-facing portraits are for Domitian's denarii. I have never heard any convincing argument as to why this is the case. There are left facing bronze issues for Domitian and there are left facing denarii for Titus and Vespasian. While some of the left-facing issues for Titus and Vespasian are rare, there are also ones that are quite common.

This coin is even more desirable because it is a Secular Games denarius. These issues are very popular with collectors so it is a good thing that many of these coins are generally available. However, this does not mean that you will not face competition if you find one for sale.

This particular coin is listed as R3 in RIC. R3 means that only 1 example was known to the authors at the time of publication in 2007. That coin resides in New York under the care of the ANS. This means that my coin is not only one of only two known, it is the only one in private hands. So the discovery of this coin means that my coin is now R2 (very few examples known).

The addition of this coin to my collection now means that I am privileged to own 4 left-facing Domitian denarii. I will, however, continue to look for more.

Domitian AR Denarius 88 CE September 14-December 31
(3.14g)
Obv: Head laureate left; IMP CAES DOMITIAN AVG GERM
Rev: COS XIIII across field; Column inscribed LVD SAEC FEC; All within laurel wreath
RIC 605 (R3)