Wonderful posts...and I LOVE that OP portrait!! I only have a rather worn denarius...and accidentally placed a higher maximum than i meant to---naturally someone bid it up right to my inflated limit. I suppose the left-facing bust was the reason for the challenger's interest at that level
That looks like a bargain to me - maybe I should have bought yours instead. Same here - mine ended up ten times the starting bid... Your denarius has a portrait of grand and noble style - one can see that the left facing portraits were usually reserved for the most talented engravers. If you ever want to sell it - ask me first