Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 875. Estimate $1500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $1215. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NERO. 54-68 AD. Æ Sestertius (27.48 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa 64 AD. Laureate head right, aegis at point of bust / Triumphal arch surmounted by statue of emperor in quadriga accompanied by Pax and Victory; two soldiers (torch bearers?) flanking quadriga, statue of Mars in side niche of arch, otherwise decorated with panels of battle scenes. RIC I 143; BMCRE 183; Cohen 307. Good VF, dark green patina, fields lightly smoothed. Substantial amount of fine detail visible on the arch. ($1500)

From the Tony Hardy Collection.

This monumental triumphal arch was erected by Nero to commemorate Roman military campaigns against the Parthians in Mesopotamia and Armenia. Although not particularly successful in a military sense, with Paetus losing almost his entire army at Randeia in Armenia, the war did end with a peace treaty favorable to Rome that was upheld for nearly fifty years. This coin type is vitally important for architectural historians, for the arch was dismantled after Nero's ignominious end in 68 AD, and is only known through its depiction on the coins.