LYDIA, Sardis. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ Medallion (46mm, 42.12 g, 6h). Domitius Rufus, asiarch, and son of a twice asiarch, of equestrian rank, and first archon. Good VF.

Triton XXIX
Lot: 473. Estimated: $ 5 000

Roman Provincial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 6 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

LYDIA, Sardis. Valerian I. AD 253-260. Æ Medallion (46mm, 42.12 g, 6h). Domitius Rufus, asiarch, and son of a twice asiarch, of equestrian rank, and first archon. AYT • K • Π • ΛIK • OYAΛЄPIANOC CЄ, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / ЄΠI ΔOM POYΦOY • ACIAPX KЄ YIOY • B • ACIAPX CAPΔIANOΩN TPIC • NЄΩKOP/ΩN, Demeter Phosphora, with billowing veil, holding torch in each hand, standing in biga drawn right by winged serpents. Hochard 2151 (D320/R680); Kurth 713 (this coin cited and illustrated); RPC X Online 61616 (this coin cited). Brown surfaces, some roughness, delamination on reverse. Good VF. Very rare, only three recorded in RPC.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection. Ex New York Sale 54 (11 January 2022), lot 402; Classical Numismatic Group 79 (17 September 2008), lot 606.

Among the most ancient of the deities in the Olympian pantheon and with connections to a pre-Hellenic mother earth goddess, Demeter remained connected with fertility in Classical myth as the goddess of grain and crops. According to the Homeric Hymn addressed to her, Demeter, in her day and night search for her abducted daughter Persephone, eventually arrived at Eleusis. In return for the hospitality she received from its king, Celeus, Demeter instructed his son, Triptolemus, in the ways of agriculture. Having received this knowledge, he taught it to the rest of Greece, traveling from place to place in a chariot drawn by flying serpents, chthonic deities connected to Demeter’s ancient past.

The final winners of all Triton XXIX lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 13-14 January 2026.

Triton XXIX – Session Two – Lot 302-613 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 13 January 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.