The Conception of Romulus and Remus

Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 621. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $2600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ As (10.18 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 140. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right / TR P-OT COS I[II], S • C in exergue, Mars, holding transverse spear in right hand and round shield in left, descending right through the air to Rhea Silvia, who is reclining, asleep on the ground left, hands behind head. RIC III 694a; Strack 888; BMCRE 1370. Good VF, dark green patina, earthen deposits. Rare.

From the White Mountain Collection.

In Roman mythology, Mars and Rhea Silvia were the parents of Romulus and Remus, legendary founders of Rome.