| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 561 | Auction date: 1 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 498 Price realized: 425 USD (Approx. 398 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. AD 81-96. Æ Drachm (33mm, 22.50 g, 11h). Dated RY 15 (AD 95/6). Laureate head right / Triumphal arch with three bays between columns, two windows above; roof surmounted by statuary group of Domitian driving horses between trophies; L IE (date) across field. Köln 415-6; Dattari (Savio) 544; K&G 24.238; RPC II 2728; Emmett 257.15. Brown patina, roughness, some pitting and delamination flaws. Good Fine. Very rare. Purchased from Malter Galleries. While often assumed to depict a local Egyptian monument, Fred Kleiner ("An arch of Domitian in Rome on coins of Alexandria," NC 1989, pp. 69-81) has convincingly argued that the arch was erected elsewhere, almost certainly in the capital, to commemorate Domitian's victories in Germany. Indeed, Suetonius (Dom. 13.2) records that the emperor erected so many arci – Latin for arches – in Rome that a Greek punster wrote on one of them ἀρκεῖ (enough). It is also interesting to note that the production of Aes denominations finally started to increase at the Alexandrian mint during the reign of Domitian, and at the expense of the billon production. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
