Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 949. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

NERVA. 96-98 AD. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm (10.03 g, 7h). Uncertain Asia Minor (or Rome) mint. Struck 97 AD. Laureate head right / Temple of Diana Perga: distyle temple set on three-tiered base; cult statue of Diana standing facing within; DIANA PERG across entablature. RIC II 116; BMCRE 83; RSC 42. VF. Rare. ($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.