Sale: CNG 63, Lot: 1112. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 May 2003.  Sold For $1200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Anonymous. Circa 264 BC. Æ 27mm (17.05 gm). Messana mint. Helmeted head of Minerva left / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, head right; short sword left. Crawford 23/1; Sydenham 30. VF, dark green and brown patina. Very rare. ($1000)

From the Tony Hardy Collection. 

Crawford assigned this issue to Sicily in the early stages of the First Punic War, based on the provenance of extant specimens and the similarity of style and weight to contemporary Mamertine issues. It was the decision to intervene on behalf of the Mamertini that sparked Rome's first war with Carthage. An important historical coin.