Lot 3521

Description

Nero, (A.D. 54-68), AE sestertius, issued c.64, Rome mint, (22.78 grams), obv. laureate head to right of Nero, around NERO CLAVD CAES AVG G ER P M TR P IMP PP, rev. Arch with quadriga above, Mars standing in left niche, S C across field, (cf.S.1962, cf.RIC 143, cf.BMC 183). Carefully tooled, otherwise good very fine, with attractive light brown patina and rare.

Ex Forvm Ancient coins, USA with their ticket. This piece has an unpublished obverse reading and may be the result of tooling. The coin has a superb reverse revealing all its detail. The Arch has been identified as that decreed by the Senate in A.D. 58 (Tacitus Annals xiii, 41) to commemorate the eastern victories of Cn. Domitius Corbulo. It was located on the Capitoline Hill but its exact site is uncertain, the structure probably having been demolished following Nero's downfall a decade later.