Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ Sestertius (28mm, 18.69 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 221. VF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 816. Estimated: $ 500

Roman Imperial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ Sestertius (28mm, 18.69 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 221. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Elagabalus in sacerdotal dress, standing left, holding cypress branch and sacrificing out of patera over lighted and garlanded altar to left. RIC IV 326 var. (horned); Banti 34 (this coin cited and illustrated); Mazzini 200 v. (this coin). Attractive green patina, minor flan flaws, hairline flan crack. VF.

From the Heather Howard Collection. Ex Giuseppe Mazzini Collection (publ. 1957); R. Laughlin Collection (A. Hess, 18 December 1933), lot 771.

At the age of fourteen, Varius Avitus Bassianus (better known as Elagabalus or Heliogabalus) inherited the office of high priest of the sun god El-Gabal at Emesa in Syria. The deity was worshipped in the form of a conical sacred stone, or baetyl, likely a large meteorite. When an unlikely coup made him emperor in June of AD 218, Elagabalus determined to take the stone with him to Rome and introduce its worship to the whole empire. During his reign, the emperor was devoted to promoting the cult of El-Gabal, building a lavish temple on the Palatine Hill to house the stone. For a brief period, the exotic eastern deity nearly came to dominate the Roman Pantheon.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Three – Lot 588-888 will be held Tuesday morning, 19 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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