The George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei Part I
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Domitian, 81 – 96
Aureus 90-91, AV 7.59 g. DOMITIANVS – AVGVSTVS Laureate head r. Rev. GERMANICVS COS XV Minerva standing l. holding vertical spear. C 150. BMC 173. CBN 162. RIC 698. Biaggi 408 (this coin). Calicó 839 (this coin). This coin was illustrated on the back cover of Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values, vol. I.
A wonderful portrait of fine style perfectly struck in high relief. Good extremely fine
Provenance
Rollin et Feuardent sale 1896, Montagu, 240.
Prof. Angelo Signorelli Collection sold by P. & P. Santamaria auction 4 June 1952, lot 1354.
Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) Collection,,sold privately in 1978 to Bank Leu (Zurich) and a partner.
Nelson Bunker Hunt (1926-2014) Collection sold by Sotheby’s, auction 6147, New York, 19-20 June 1991, lot 735.
Gilbert Steinberg (1920-2008) Collection sold by Numismatica Ars Classica & Spink Taisei, auction, Zurich, 16 November 1994, lot 346.
Michael L. J. Winckless Collection sold privately by Spink & Son (London), in October 2006.

Minerva, the goddess of war, was the patron of Domitian. He had a shrine for her in the palace, dedicated at least two temples to her in Rome and, beginning in 83, he used her image on what would seem to be the majority of his coins. The emperor declared himself to be the son of Minerva, and the relationship between them is a recurring theme of Martial’s epigrams. The poet Statius, who was a firsthand observer in the reign of Domitian, even describes the emperor as wearing a toga that Minerva had woven for him. His patronage of Minerva can be understood in the context of the Flavian dynasty, whose members took pride in their success in war: Vespasian had emerged triumphant in the Civil War of A.D. 68-69, Titus was victorious against the Jews, and Domitian – whose resentment and inferiority complex made him eager to exceed his father and brother – launched campaigns against Germans, Dacians, Sarmatians and other foes. In all he accepted twenty-three Imperial salutations – more than Augustus himself, and he staged at least two triumphal processions. On most of Domitian’s coins Minerva is shown standing in what Carson identifies as four distinct varieties. Sometimes she holds only a spear (as on this coin), or a spear and thunderbolt, but more commonly she holds both a shield and a spear. Other times she rests a foot on a ship’s prow and is accompanied by an owl. In this case we have a more personalized approach. It need not surprise us that her features are modeled on Domitian’s, though we may describe Minerva’s as Classicised and Domitian’s as realistic. Identifying the differences is a worthwhile exercise: Minerva’s chin is rounded, her mouth softly modeled, and there is no natural contour to her profile at the point where the forehead meets the bridge of the nose