279, Lot: 477. Estimate $100. Sold for $150. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Anonymous issues. temp. Domitian, AD 81-96. Æ Tessera (19mm, 3.21 g, 12h). Two horseshoes within serpent-headed torque / TRI-VMP, IO-[IO] across field, olive-branch. BMCRE p. 412, note 7; Göbl, Antike pl. 9, 101; cf. Cohen pp. 267-8. Near VF, brown patina, roughness on obverse.

From the Bruce R. Brace Collection.

This enigmatic type belongs to a class of pseudo-currency some of which may have been intended to circulate as low-value denominations (mostly quadrantes), whilst others doubtless served non-numismatic functions, such as tickets or gambling counters. The precise meaning of the types and legends is unclear, though there seems to be some association with a military triumph. The connection with Domitian appears to be established by a coin with similar reverse bearing a bust of Minerva on obverse and the inscription IMP DOMIT AVG GERM (cf. Cohen 300, no authority cited).