Sale: CNG 60, Lot: 1541. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2002.  Sold For $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NERO. 54-68 AD. Æ Sestertius (25.31 gm). Uncertain Balkan mint, possibly Perinthus in Thrace. Laureate head right, wearing aegis / Triumphal arch, hung with wreath across front and left side; above, Nero in facing quadriga escorted on right by Victory holding wreath and palm, and on left by Pax holding caduceus and cornucopiae; just below the quadriga on extreme left and right, two small figures of soldiers; on left side of arch in niche, figure of Mars standing facing, holding spear and round shield. RIC I -; BMCRE -; cf. RPC I 1758. Good Fine, dark olive-green patina. ($500)

Recent scholarship suggests that this rare issue of aes coinage with Latin legends was struck at Perinthus. The style is quite distinct from the two western issues of Rome and Lugdunum, and there is nothing in common with the Latin issues of Antioch or Corinth. Provenance, when known, is almost always in the northwest Balkan area. In addition, the coins are frequently encountered countermarked with Galban stamps (GAL KAI and GALBA) that were used to countermark provincial Perinthan issues.