EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. AD 81-96. Æ Drachm (34mm, 19.30 g, 12h). Dated RY 14 (AD 94/5). Good Fine.

Electronic Auction 558
Lot: 424. Estimated: $ 150

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 90. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. AD 81-96. Æ Drachm (34mm, 19.30 g, 12h). Dated RY 14 (AD 94/5). 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 IΔ (date) across field. Köln 410; Dattari (Savio) 542-3; K&G 24.224; RPC II 2708; Emmett 257.14 (R2). Dark brown surfaces, roughness. Good Fine. Very rare, as are all Alexandrian drachms of Domitian, with only six reverse types recorded by Emmett.

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).

Closing Date and Time: 20 March 2024 at 12:21:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.