Colosseum Sestertius

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 3294. Estimate $10000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $55000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Titus. AD 79-81. Æ Sestertius (23.66 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 80/1. The Flavian Amphitheater (The Colosseum); porticus of the Baths of Titus to left, Meta Sudans to right / Titus seated left on curule chair, holding branch; a pile of arms around him. RIC II 100; Elkins Type C, 6 (A4/P6). VF, brown surfaces, moderate roughness. Very rare, only 22 examples listed by Elkins, with only 6 not in a museum collection.

From the John A. Seeger Collection.

A bird's eye view of the most famous landmark of ancient Rome. Construction on the Colosseum began in AD 71 during the reign of Vespasian, and dedication ceremonies were held in AD 75 after the completion of the first three stories. In AD 80, the remaining two stories were completed, and new dedication ceremonies were conducted in June, celebrated on this sestertius of Titus. Elkins, in his recent article on these pieces, argues that they were commemorative pieces distributed by Imperial munificence at games held in the Colosseum.