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Message:: [QUOTE="PeteB, post: 7956591, member: 99412"][ATTACH=full]1379380[/ATTACH] Nero. AD 54-68. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 23.94 gm, 1h). Uncertain Balkan mint, possibly Perinthus in Thrace. Struck circa 64 AD. Obv: Laureate head right; Countermarked ΓΑΛΒΑ at Perinthos to deface the tyrant Nero in a form of "damnatio.". This assertion is based on the observation that this writer has seen numerous GALBA countermarks on this type coin and in every single case, the countermark obliterates Nero's face....and not seen elsewhere. Rev: Triumphal arch with wreath hung between pillars surmounted by statuary group of Nero in quadriga, escorted by Victory and Pax and flanked by soldiers; statue of Mars in niche on left side of arch. RIC I –; RPC I, 1758 var.Writes a major auction house: "Perinthus has been proposed as a possible mint for this rare issue of aes coinage with Latin legends. The style is quite distinct from the two western issues of Rome and Lugdunum, and there is nothing in common with the Latin issues of Antioch or Corinth. Provenance, when known, is almost always in the northwest Balkan area. In addition, the coins are frequently encountered countermarked with Galban stamps (GAL KAI and GALBA) used to countermark provincial Perinthus issues"[/QUOTE]