Extremely Rare EXERC BRITANNIVVS Sestertius

CNG 102, Lot: 956. Estimate $1000. Sold for $4750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (31mm, 23.62 g, 12h). Travel series. Rome mint. Struck circa AD 134-138. [HADRIA]NVS AVG COS III [P P], bare head right / EXERC BRITANNI/CVS in exergue, Hadrian standing right on low platform on left, haranguing three soldiers before him; the first soldier holding an aquila, the second a shield, and the third a signa; a vexillum in the background; S-C to either side. RIC II 913 var. (reverse inscrption); Banti 255 (same dies as illustrated specimen); Strack 789; BMCRE 1673 var. (same). Fine, dark green and brown patina. Extremely rare, perhaps less than ten examples known.

A search of CoinArchives reveals only one other specimen that appeared in Lanz 94 (1999), lot 504. Another example, perhaps the finest known, appeared in Leu 25 (1980), lot 305, and was struck from the same dies as the present specimen.