147, Lot: 195. Estimate $500. Sold for $628. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Gaius (Caligula). AD 37-41. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 27.83 g). Rome mint. Struck AD 39-40. Pietas, veiled, seated left, holding patera and resting elbow resting on small statue / Gaius, veiled, sacrificing at garlanded altar; one attendant slitting the throat of a bull on altar, the other holding a patera, behind the group a hexastyle garlanded temple with pedimental scene of sacrifice, the roof ornamented with quadriga of Augustus flanked by Victory Acroteria, statues of Romulus and Aeneas at roofline. RIC I 44. Near VF, brown surfaces, a little rough.

From the Henry Chitwood Collection.

This coin commemorates the dedication of the temple of Divvs Augustus, completed in 37 AD, with a remarkable scene of Gaius Caligula in his role of pontifex maximus leading the sacrificial ceremonies. A visually stunning view of religious architecture on a Roman bronze.