Nero. AD 54-68. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 26.92 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64. VF.

Keystone 17 – The W. Toliver Besson Collection
Lot: 221. Estimated: $ 2 000

Roman Imperial, Bronze

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

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Nero. AD 54-68. Æ Sestertius (34mm, 26.92 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64. Laureate bust right, wearing aegis / Port of Ostia: seven ships within the harbor; at the top is a pharus surmounted by a statue of Neptune; below is a reclining figure of Tiber, holding a rudder and dolphin; to left, crescent-shaped pier with portico, terminating with figure sacrificing at altar and with building; to right, crescent-shaped row of breakwaters or slips, terminating with a figure seated on rock. RIC I 178; WCN 120; Elkins, Monuments Figure 83. Brown patina with brassy highlights, some smoothing, tooled. VF. Important architectural reverse.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection, purchased from Baldwin’s, 20 May 2011.

While Julius Caesar recognized the value of expanding Rome's port facilities at Ostia, it was Claudius who began actual building in AD 42. As part of the construction, one of Caligula's pleasure galleys was scuttled and filled with cement; above it was constructed a lighthouse surmounted by a statue of Neptune. Although the actual date of completion is not certain, it must have occurred shortly before this sestertius was minted. A further expansion of the facilities was required under Trajan and Hadrian. By the fourth century, however, the port's importance began to diminish as a result of silting. Soon the region became a breeding ground for malaria and was abandoned.

Closing Date and Time: 22 July 2026 at 11:13:20 ET.



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