Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 644. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

[Roman Imperial] CLAUDIUS. 41-54 AD. Æ Sestertius (26.66 g, 6h). Rome mint. Laureate head right; c/m: NCAPR in rectangle / Legend within wreath. For coin: RIC I 96; Von Kaenel Type 54; BMCRE 115; Cohen 39; for c/m: Martini 1.4135; Pangerl 60. VF, brown patina. ($300)

The N(ero) C(aesar) A(ugustus) PR(obavit) countermark is one of the most common first century countermarks. Find evidence points to an Italian origin. As Nero struck no bronze coinage at Rome before 62 AD, it is thought that he countermarked coins of his predecessor for distribution to the populace, possibly for a grand congiarium in 57 AD. PR may also stand for Populo Romano - "to the people of Rome" (see RIC I, p. 11).