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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 3555222, member: 75937&quot;]I have done a lot of cherry-picking over the years, but most would consider it fly-specking: identifying coins with rare bust varieties, coins where the deity on the reverse was looking left, rather than right, or held a scepter or not, or where a peacock stood on top of Juno&#039;s throne rather than in front of it. Many would consider these minor varieties and they don&#039;t make much difference when it comes to value. Let&#039;s just say that they won&#039;t allow me to retire early.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, I am most proud of this find, because it&#039;s not a rare-but-minor variation of an otherwise common coin. This one is just a straight-up rarity. It is no exaggeration to say that this may be the second known example, the first being the specimen in the Bibliothèque nationale de France described by Cohen. It was auctioned as a &quot;sestertius,&quot; but at 26 mm and 16 g, I knew it could only be a dupondius. Competition for it was low and the hammer price was 35 £.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]945026[/ATTACH]</p><p>Faustina Senior, AD 138-141.</p><p>Roman orichalcum dupondius, 16.19 g, 26.1 mm, 10 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 140-141.</p><p>Obv: DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: CONSECRATIO S C, Funeral pyre in three stories, set on base, ornamented and garlanded, surmounted by Faustina in biga right.</p><p>Refs: RIC 1189; BMCRE p. 236 *; Cohen 187; RCV --.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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