Sale: Nomos 7, Lot: 161. Estimate CHF2000.  Closing Date: Tuesday, 14 May 2013.  Sold For CHF2200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CAPPADOCIA, Caesaraea-Eusebia. Nero. AD 54-68. Didrachm (Silver, 21mm, 6.90 g 6), possibly struck in Pontus, c. 63-64. NERO CLAVD DI CLAVD F CAESAR AVG GERMA Laureate head of Nero to right. Rev. DIVOS CLAVD AVGVST GERMANIC PATER AVG Laureate head of Divus Claudius to right. RPC 3653. Sydenham 66. Attractively toned and bearing two excellent portraits. Nearly extremely fine.

From the collection of Leo Benz, Lanz 94, 22 November 1999, 220.

The extremely close resemblance between the portraits of Nero and his adoptive father Claudius on this coin can have two possible reasons, the least likely is that the die cutters in Caesaraea did not know what Claudius looked like; more probably, the similarity in features was done to stress the legitimacy of the succession.