BITHYNIA, Nicaea. Messalina. Augusta, AD 41-48. Æ (31.5mm, 22.09 g, 12h). Gaius Cadius Rufus, proconsul. Struck under Claudius, circa AD 47-48. Good VF.

CNG Feature Auction 133
Lot: 449. Estimated: $ 3 000

Roman Provincial, Bronze, Coin-in-Hand Video

Sold For $ 5 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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BITHYNIA, Nicaea. Messalina. Augusta, AD 41-48. Æ (31.5mm, 22.09 g, 12h). Gaius Cadius Rufus, proconsul. Struck under Claudius, circa AD 47-48. Draped bust left, hair in long plait / Façade of basilica: a two story tetrastyle central bay with two story wings flanking; entablature inscribed NEIKAIEΩN above, clippeus in pediment. RPC I 2034.8 (this coin); RG 33 var. (bust right). Green patina, slight roughness, minor smoothing. Good VF. Rare, one of the finest known examples. RPC Online feature coin.

Claudius was unlucky in marriage, but his third wife caused him the most scandal. Valeria Messalina was only 14 or 15 when she married the emperor, who at the time was about 50 years old. Although she bore Claudius two children (Claudia Octavia and Britannicus), she appears to have felt little attraction to her much older husband and was notoriously promiscuous, according to ancient accounts. While the emperor was traveling to Ostia in AD 48, he was informed that Messalina had secretly taken a second husband, a senator named Gaius Silius, who was said to be the handsomest man in Rome. Claudius returned to Rome and swiftly had Silius executed. Messalina was ordered to commit suicide, but could not muster the courage to do so, and a soldier promptly ran her through. A damnatio memoriae was pronounced against her name.

No imperial issues with the portrait of Messalina were struck. As for the small number of provincial issues that carry her portrait, the largest and most impressive are from Nicaea in Bithynia. The elaborate building depicted on the reverse may represent the city’s gymnasium, which stood in the city center. The geographer Strabo mentions the building as being especially magnificent, with a tower at its center from which all four city gates could be seen.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 133 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 15-16 September 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 133 – Session Two – Lot 309-594 will be held Tuesday morning, 15 September 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.

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