381, Lot: 431. Estimate $100. Sold for $130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Lucius Verus. AD 161-169. Æ Sestertius (29.5mm, 24.30 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 168. Laureate head right / Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm frond. Cf. RIC III 1478; cf. MIR 18, 169-16/30; cf. Banti 148. Fine, dark gray patina, traces of earthen deposits. A protocontorniate, the edges having been tapped to create raised rims.

From the estate of Thomas Bentley Cederlind.

The edge of the coin has been lightly tapped to create a raised rim; sestertii with this edge effect are sometimes referred to as "protocontorniates." This coin was probably a presentation piece mounted in a phalera for display on a military helmet or breastplate. The word Contorniate comes from the Latin word contorno which means surround. These “protocontorniates” likely gave rise to the later form of contorniate, employing a surrounding furrow.