Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 1704. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

JUSTINIAN I. 527-565 AD. Æ 4 Nummi (2.26 gm). Thessalonica mint. Struck 538-542 AD. Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Large D flanked by A P; cross above. DOC I 101; Metcalf, Thess. 306; MIB I 176a; SB 195. Fair/Fine, brown patina with verdigris. Extremely rare. ($500)

From the Christopher Connell Collection.

Metcalf recorded fifteen examples of 4 nummi bronzes in the course of his research, including five of this subtype. Even taking into consideration the handful of finds over the last twenty-five years, the 4 nummi of Thessalonica is by far the rarest Byzantine denomination. This is the fifth example that Classical Numismatic Group has handled.