Sale: CNG 70, Lot: 958. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005.  Sold For $650. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm (10.05 g, 7h). Uncertain Asia Minor (or Rome) mint. Struck January-February 98 AD. Laureate head right / Distyle temple set on four-tiered base; within, cult statue of Augustus standing facing, holding spear, being crowned with wreath by female figure holding cornucopiae; ROMA ET AVG across entablature. RIC II 723; BMCRE 711; RSC 610. VF. Attractive early issue. ($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.