188, Lot: 215. Estimate $150. Sold for $132. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BITHYNIA, Nicaea. Vespasian. AD 69-79. Æ 25mm (7.03 g). M. Plancius Varus, proconsul. Laureate head right / Panther seated left, with paws resting on cantharus. RPC II 629; Stumpf 349-351; RG 48-49; SNG Copenhagen 471 var. (obv. legend); SNG von Aulock 537. Near VF, dark greenish-brown patina, rough surfaces.

From the J. S. Wagner Collection.

It was commonly thought in antiquity that panthers were fond of wine and could be captured by setting a bowl of it out and waiting until they had drunk to excess.