356, Lot: 533. Estimate $100. Sold for $90. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Severus Alexander. AD 222-235. Æ Sestertius (30mm, 19.25 g). Rome mint. Laureate bust right, slight drapery / Grid of punch marks and incised lines, removing all traces of the original reverse type and legend. Near VF, dark brown patina, some earthen deposits. The coin was purchased on the antiquities market in Jerusalem but was probably found in a neighboring country.

Purchased from Robert Deutsch (Archaeological Center), VCoins, 2010.

Created in antiquity, the reason for this altered reverse is unclear. There are one hundred and ninety-four small squares formed by fifteen horizontal and fourteen vertical lines.