Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 920. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

DOMITIAN. 81-96 AD. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm (10.65 g, 7h). Ephesus (or Rome) mint. Struck 82 AD. Laureate head right / Tetrastyle temple on podium of four steps: within, Jupiter seated between Minerva and Juno standing facing, holding sceptres; figures on pediment; facing quadriga between two facing bigas on roof. RIC II 222; RPC II 864; BMCRE 251; RSC 23. Good Fine, toned, tiny scratch on reverse. ($500)

While no decisive evidence exists for the location of the mint of the cistophori during the reigns of Vespasian through Trajan, the style, legends, and, in particular, the consistent die axis point to Rome, suggesting that these coins were minted in the capital and then sent to Asia for local use.