Provisions for the Plebs of Rome

280, Lot: 170. Estimate $500. Sold for $800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nerva. AD 96-98. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 27.84 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 97. Laureate head right / PLEBEI VRBANAE FRVMENTO CONSTITVTO, modius containing six grain ears and a poppy. RIC II 89; Banti 38. Fine, greenish-brown patina, some small red deposits.

From the Nera Collection.

Struck to commemorate imperial measures to distribute grain to the poorer citizens of the capital.