167, Lot: 134. Estimate $200. Sold for $145. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Vespasian. AD 69-79. AR Denarius (17mm, 2.88 g). Uncertain mint in Asia Minor. Struck AD 70. Laureate head right / Titus and Domitian Caesars standing left, each holding patera; monogram in exergue. RIC II 322; cf. RPC II 819 and 827; RSC 249. Good VF, a little porous, obverse off center.

Ephesus has been suggested as the mint for these Asian denarii of various types, dated COS II to COS V, for the one clear mintmark in the series, an EPHE monogram used for the COS III issues. The mintmark was changed to a star for the last two years. The marks of the earlier types, used in COS II and COS III, perhaps need some clarification. RIC and RSC describe the marks as variants of Q, while BMC 433-450 records at least four monogram varieties. RPC II 817-828 breaks the series down into two sub-groups, 817-821 with F, and 822-828 with BY monogram. However, examination of the published specimens of 817-821 cited in RPC, and recent auction appearances from http://www.coinarchives.com/ reveals few if any pieces that can be conclusively shown to bear a F; they all seem to be variants of a similar monogram. The F sub-group may not in fact exist.