Sale: CNG 60, Lot: 1450. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2002.  Sold For $1700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

C. Plutius. 121 BC. Æ Quadrans (4.81 gm). Head of Hercules right, wearing lion's skin headdress; ••• behind / Prow of galley right, inscribed C. PLVTI on side; caps of the Dioscuri above, ROMA below. Crawford 278/2; Sydenham -; BMCRR -. Good VF, brown and green patina. One of the rarest of all Republican bronzes. Crawford lists only two specimens, both in the Bibliothèque Nationale! ($2000)

This coin was first offered in our Triton V auction, but we pulled it because a knowledgeable collector voiced a concern regarding its authenticity. The coin has since been examined by an independent authority at the Bibliothèque Nationale who confirms that it is from the same dies as the unpublished second example in their collection.