Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 878. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $4800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NERO. 54-68 AD. AV Aureus (7.27 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa 64-65 AD. Laureate head right / Nero, radiate, standing facing, holding branch and Victory on globe. RIC I 46; BMCRE 56; Calicó 402. VF, lightly toned. Struck from fresh dies of good style. ($2000)

From the John F. Sullivan Collection.

The reverse depicts the Colossus, a 120 foot tall bronze statue of Nero as Sol that was created by Zenodorus for the vestibule of the Domus Aurea, or Golden House, the massive palace constructed by Nero after the fire of 64 AD. The statue was destroyed after Nero's downfall in 68, but its memory was retained in the popular name of the amphitheater constructed by the Flavians at the same site-the Colosseum.