Sale: CNG 67, Lot: 1534. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2004.  Sold For $560. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANTONINUS PIUS. 138-161 AD. Æ Sestertius (23.52 gm). Struck 145 AD. Laureate head right / COS IIII, LIBERALITAS/AVG III[I] in exergue, Antoninus seated left in curule chair on raised daïs, extending hand to figure standing right and extending hand to receive it; statue of Liberalitas standing left, holding abacus and cornucopiae, on daïs before; officer holding sceptre standing behind. RIC III 774; BMCRE 1690A; Cohen 498. Good VF, even olive patina. ($500)

From the Michael Weller Collection. Ex Lanz 106 (26-27 November 2001), lot 447.

The occasion for the fourth largesse of Pius' reign is uncertain. Possibilities include the impending marriage of Aurelius and Faustina Junior, Verus' assumption of the toga virilis, and the dedication of the Temple of Divus Hadrian.