CNG 109, Lot: 443. Estimate $150. Sold for $280. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Dichalkon (14.4mm, 1.90 g, 12h). Dated RY 17 (AD 113/114). Laureate head right / Hippopotamus standing right; L IZ (date) above. Köln 655; Dattari (Savio) 1208; K&G 27.576; RPC III 4818 (see note); Emmett 708.17 (R5). VF, dark green patina with earthen highlights/deposits. Very rare.

Due to the small module size for this denomination (dichalkon), the animal appearing on the reverse is usually difficult to identify with any certainty. The authors of RPC III combine all of the various attributions under one catalog number, and then mention the various animals: elephant, hippopotamus, gazelle, or rhinoceros. They state that “an elephant seems the most likely,” but the animal on the present specimen does resemble a hippopotamus, at least to this cataloguer.