CLAUDIUS. 41-54 AD. Æ Sestertius (30.43 gm). Struck 41-50 AD. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P, laureate head of Claudius right; c/m: NCAPR within rectangular incuse / EX S•C/P•P/OB CIVES/SERVATOS, legend in four lines in oak wreath. RIC I 112; BMCRE 185; Cohen 38. VF, brown patina, a few small pits. $395.
This countermark, one of the most common imperial cointermarks, is likely a validating countermark used during the reign of Nero. For further discussion, see Kraay, "The Behavior of Early Imperial Countermarks" in Essays Mattingly, pg. 132ff.
