Hey everyone, I intended to include this in my top 10 of 2020, but I just couldn't wait to share it. I was going to post it in the most expensive sestertii thread (as it fits the bill for me), but I thought it deserved a thread of its own! So here it is...... Claudius (AD 37-54) AE Sestertius Date: AD 50-54 Obv: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P Laureate head right. Rev: EX S C - P P - OB CIVES - SERVATOS in four lines within oak. Diameter: 35mm Weight: 28.61 grams Mint: Rome RIC I 112 Ex: Roma Numismatics, Heritage, the Morris Collection I know there are far better examples on this forum, but it is gorgeous to me. The realism and three dimensionality of Claudius' portrait is really what sold me on this coin. This is without question my most expensive AE coin...the opening bid was really high, but I decided to pull the trigger. This also happened to be the exact type I wanted (with the wreath reverse). Most of the offerings I've seen (at least within my budget) have been the spes type, so that also made me pull the trigger. Anyways....feel free to post anything you feel is relevant!
It certainly does deserve its own thread! That portrait is a masterpiece!!! Huge coingrats To level set, here's my best dirt Clodius. (Still recovering from whatever the heck the person before I had done to it to "clean" it. The patina is just starting to come back):
Sestertius of Claudius 50-54 AD Obv Head of Claudius right laureate. Rv Inscription within oak wreath. RIC 112 25.76 grms 35 mm Photo by W. Hansen