Extremely Rare Light Weight Solidus

Triton XIV, Lot: 1044. Estimate $1000. Sold for $2300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (21mm, 3.75 g, 7h). Light weight issue of 20 Siliquae. Constantinople mint, 10th officina. Struck 583/4-602. [D N] mAVRC TIЬ PP AVG, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger in right hand / VICTORI A AVGG, Angel standing facing, holding globus in left hand and long staff in right; I//OBX[X]. DOC -; MIBE 14; SB 531 (Antioch). EF, a few areas of minor striking weakness. Extremely rare.

Attributed to Antioch in Sear, Hahn places this issue under the mint at Constantinople. Though the mintmark is not complete, the third letter is clearly an ‘X’ rather than a ‘+,’ and the final letter has more of an additional ‘X’ appearance than a star—these latter markings indicative of SB 482. Furthering this attribution to the much rarer SB 531 is the weight, which is within tolerance of a 20 Siliquae issue rather than that of a 22 Siliquae piece (SB 482).