335, Lot: 59. Estimate $150. Sold for $140. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of BOSPOROS. Kotys III, with Severus Alexander. AD 227/8-233/4. AR Stater (20mm, 6.75 g, 12h). Dated year 529 of the Bosporan Era (AD 232/3). Diademed and draped bust of Kotys right; sword before / Laureate head of Severus Alexander right; ΘKΦ (date) below. MacDonald 578/3. VF, spotty tone, roughness.

From a European Collection of Coins of the Northern Black Sea.

A monetary crisis clearly erupted in the reign of Kotys III. During his rule, the quality of his staters declined precipitously, changing from electrum to silver to a debased billon.