Triton XX, Lot: 676. Estimate $5000. Sold for $4750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nero. AD 54-68. AV Aureus (18mm, 7.31 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 65-66. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head right / VESTA, Vesta seated facing within domed, hexastyle temple. RIC I 61; Calicó 448; BMCRE 101; Biaggi 47. Good VF, toned, scattered marks.

From the Continental Collection. Ex Brandt FPL 8 (undated), no. 344.

The Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 – that, which according to tradition, Nero is said to have intentionally set – destroyed huge portions of the city, with many of Rome’s most important and sacred buildings being casualties of the disaster. The temple of Vesta must have been among the first to have been rebuilt, as the venerated flame it enclosed was closely tied to Rome’s fortunes.