CNG 105, Lot: 1058. Estimate $2500. Sold for $3000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Basil II Bulgaroktonos, with Constantine VIII. 976-1025. AR Miliaresion (26mm, 2.18 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 989. Facing bust of the Virgin Mary, holding Christ medallion before her / Legend in five lines; two dashes above; below, pelleted cross between dashes. DOC 19; SB 1809. Good VF, toned. Exceptional for issue. Very rare.

Ex Lanz 112 (25 November 2002), lot 981.

This commemorative issue, with its obverse inscription “O Virgin, aid the emperors,” dates to the battle of Abydos in 989, where Basil defeated the last of his internal opponents for the throne. The reverse inscription is translated as “Mother of God, full of glory, he who puts his trust in thee will never fail in his undertakings.”