CNG 90, Lot: 1517. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Domitian. AD 81-96. AR Cistophorus (25mm, 11.09 g, 7h). Ephesus mint (or Rome for circulation in Asia). Struck AD 82. Laureate head right / Aquila between two signa, one surmounted by a hand, the other by a banner. RIC II 843; RPC 865; RSC 667. Good VF, toned. Well centered and struck.

While no decisive evidence exists for the location of the mint of the cistophori during the reigns of Vespasian through Trajan, the style, legends, and, in particular, the consistent die axis point to Rome, suggesting that these coins were minted in the capital and then sent to Asia for local use.