135, Lot: 273. Estimate $75. Sold for $2151. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MAJORIAN. 457-461 AD. Æ 12mm (1.82 g). Ravenna mint. Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm; RV. RIC X 2618. VF, brown and green patina, off-center but name very clear. Rare.

From the Marc Poncin Collection.

Majorian came from an illustrious Italian family and was considered a possible successor to the throne after the death of Valentinian III in 455. With the deposition of Avitus in October 456, Majorian and Ricimer were the de facto rulers of the West, and Majorian was proclaimed emperor by the army on 1 April 457. Just as Avitus had not been accepted in Italy, Majorian was not accepted in Gaul, and he successfully led military campaigns in 458/9 to quell any threat of revolt from that quarter. He did not have such luck in Spain, however, as in 460/1 his two naval expeditions against Gaiseric met with disaster. In the meantime, he also had aroused the suspicions of Ricimer. After Majorian's return to Rome on 2 August 461, he was seized and then beheaded five days later.