Provisions for the Plebs of Rome

359, Lot: 341. Estimate $2000. Sold for $1800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nerva. AD 96-98. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 22.18 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 97. Laureate head right / PLEBEI VRB[ANA]E FRVMENTO CONSTITVTO, modius filled with poppy and six grain ears. RIC II 89; Banti 38. VF, green-brown patina, some cleaning marks, small areas of fill, patina chipped on edge in one spot.

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