Extremely Rare Severan Provincial

Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 1400. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $545. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ASIA MINOR, Uncertain. Caracalla & Geta. AD 209-211. Æ 28mm (13.52 g, 6h). M • ANTΩNЄIN OC AVΓOVCTOC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Caracalla right / AVTO • KAIC • Π • C ЄΠTIMIOC ΓЄTAC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Geta right. Parks 28; G.F. Hill, "Greek Coins Acquired by the British Museum," NC 1925, p.15 (both refs. Cyprus mint). VF, green patina. Extremely rare.

From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

The attribution to Cyprus is not definitive, and based solely on the evidence of provenance. The three examples of this type in the collection of the British Museum were purchased from a dealer who claimed they came from Cyprus. A hoard found on Cyprus contained three more examples. As Cyprus was a crossroads of trade and military movement in the eastern Mediterranean during this period, it is possible that the specimens cited were deposited on the island from elsewhere.