Sale: CNG 69, Lot: 1533. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 8 June 2005.  Sold For $2300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NERO. 54-68 AD. Æ Dupondius (14.60 gm, 7h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck 65 AD. Laureate head left, globe at point of bust / Façade of the Macellum Magnum: statue standing facing on base within cylindrical tetrastyle entrance set on tiered base, upper tristyle story surmounted by ornate conical dome; two-story tristyle porch on either side. RIC I 402; BMCRE 336 (as per text; plate coin bears different obverse legend); Cohen 129. Good VF, green and brown patina, obverse fields lightly tooled. Exceptional reverse. ($1000)

The Macellum Magnum was Nero’s great provision market, probably dating from 59 AD. This magnificent structure, originally occupying the middle of a square lined with porticoes and shops, was located on the Caelian Hill. During the turbulent fifth century AD, the building fell into partial ruin, until it was transformed into the church of St. Stefano Rotondo under Pope Simplicius (468-482).