Nerva. AD 96-98. AE Sestertius (35mm, 25.96 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 96.

Triton XXV
Lot: 865. Estimated: $ 3 000

Roman Imperial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 5 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Nerva. AD 96-98. AE Sestertius (35mm, 25.96 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 96. IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS II P P, laureate head right / FISCI IVDΛICI CΛLVMNIΛ SVBLΛTΛ, S C across field, palm tree with two clusters of dates. RIC II 58; Hendin 6634; Banti 14; BMCRE 88; BN 71. Glossy surfaces, some smoothing and tooling. VF.

From the Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection. Ex Stack’s (7 December 1989), lot 3303; Frederick S. Knobloch Collection (Stack’s, 1 May 1980), lot 438; Albert Baldwin Collection.

David Hendin wrote, in his Guide to Biblical Coins, Fifth Edition, that “In all likelihood (this reverse type) celebrates Vespasian’s requirement of 71/2 CE that the annual didrachm Temple Tax, the Fiscus Iudaicus, be paid to Rome rather than to the Jewish Temple. This tax was extended to every Jew, male and female, from the age of three, and even to slaves of Jewish households. The proceeds were earmarked for the rebuilding of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus in Rome, which had been destroyed in the last days of the Roman Civil War of 68-69.”

“Thus, FISCI IVDIACI CALVMNIA SVBLATA (’the insult of the Jewish Tax has been removed’) would refer to Vespasian’s removal of the insult that prior to 71/2 the Jewish Temple Tax had been collected by Jews for their own use. After all, Romans considered themselves the only legitimate taxing authority within the empire, and the only rightful beneficiary of tax revenues.”

“In summary, the idea that this coin represents a Roman apology, or a Roman acknowledgment of its own callous behavior, must be abandoned” (p. 458).

The final winners of all Triton XXV lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 11-12 January 2022. Triton XXV – Session Three – Roman Republican & Imperatorial Coinage through Byzantine Coinage will be held Wednesday morning, 12 January 2022 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.

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