197, Lot: 142. Estimate $200. Sold for $400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ As (26mm, 12.41 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 134-138. Bare-headed and draped bust right / NILVS, Nilus reclining left, holding reed and cornucopia; hippopotamus at feet. RIC II 868. VF, dark brown patina, with a hint of red, a few pits, minor smoothing.

During Hadrian’s tour of Egypt in October AD 130, his favorite, Antinoüs, fell into the Nile and drowned, an event that provoked rumors of suicide or ritual murder.