Ex British Museum and Wigan Collection

CNG 108, Lot: 612. Estimate $2000. Sold for $4250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 25.27 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 124-128. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate bust right, slight drapery / COS I-I-I, Neptune standing right, left foot set on prow, holding trident and acrostolium. RIC II 633; BMCRE 1288 (this coin); Banti 168. Near EF, attractive brown patina.

Deaccessioned from the British Museum by exchange on 14 February 1980 (a copy of a note from R. A. G Carson, documenting the exchange, will be provided to the winner of this lot upon request). Acquired by the British Museum from the E. W. Wigan Collection in 1872.

Edward Wright Wigan (1823-1871) was an avid coin collector who built upon a collection of Anglo-Saxon and English begun by his uncle, John Alfred Wigan, and also acquired a number of other important collections, such as the Roman gold collection of Prosper Dupré, the collection of Jewish coinage of Félicien de Saulcy, and the Baktrian collection of James Gibbs. He was also active in buying from public sales, and acquired pieces at auction from the collections of the Earl of Pembroke, the Duke of Devonshire, and Thomas Thomas. Nearly all of his Roman gold was presented to the British Museum in 1864, and published in the Numismatic Chronicle 1865 (F. W. Madden, “Account of a collection of Roman gold coins, presented by Edward Wigan, Esq., to the Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum”, pp. 1-56). At the same time, his Jewish collection was published by F. W. Madden in his History of Jewish Coinage (London, 1864). Upon his death, Wigan’s collection was purchased by Rollin & Feuardent, and the BM subsequently purchased many of his Greek and Roman coins from them with a Treasury Grant of £10,000.