168, Lot: 276. Estimate $100. Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Justin I and Justinian I. 1 April -1 August 527. Æ Pentanummium (12mm, 1.96 g). Antioch mint. Crowned facing busts of Justin and Justinian / Statue of Tyche of Antioch seated right within domed shrine; E (retrograde). DOC I 17; SB 133. Fine, dark green patina.

From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

Justin was an illiterate peasant from Thrace who had acquired the throne through his natural strengths and cunning, but he understood the value of education, especially for his relatives. His nephew Peter was sent to Constantinople, and when his uncle became emperor, the newly re-named Justinian was his trusted advisor. When Justin's health began to fail early in 527, Justinian was readily accepted as co-emperor and the transition of power was uneventful. This tiny bronze from Antioch has the last depiction of the Tyche of Antioch by Eutychides, appearing on coins of that city since the 2nd century BC, and is the last classical deity to appear on an ancient coin.