Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIII 14-15 Jan 2020
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Nero. AD 54-68. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.28 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64-65. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head right / IVPPITER CVSTOS, Jupiter, bare to waist, with cloak around lower limbs, seated left on throne, holding thunderbolt in right hand and vertical scepter in left. RIC I 52; WCN 25; Calicó 412; BMCRE 67-73; BN 213-21; Biaggi 225-8; Jameson –; Mazzini 118. Near EF. Attractive red and blue toning, characteristic of aurei from Boscoreale.
From the Provence Collection. Possibly ex Boscoreale Hoard.
On April 13, 1895, excavators working on a Roman villa near Pompeii unearthed a vaulted box containing a treasure trove of silver vessels and the remains of a leather bag containing more than 1,000 gold aurei. The intense heat from the volcanic ash, lava and pyroclastic flows from the eruption of Vesuvius left nearly all of the gold coins with a distinctive reddish discoloration which has come to be known as "Boscoreale toning." Most of the silver pieces were later purchased by the Baron Edmond de Rothchild, who donated them to the Louvre in Paris, where they are still exhibited. The coins, however, were dispersed to local collectors before any formal records could be compiled. It is known the hoard consisted of aurei from the late Roman Republic and early Empire up to and including AD 79. Although it is usually impossible to tell for certain whether any particular coin was from the Boscoreale Hoard, the presence of deep reddish toning on an aureus dating to before the eruption is regarded as highly suggestive that the coin was from this hoard, or elsewhere in the region buried by Vesuvius.
From the Provence Collection. Possibly ex Boscoreale Hoard.
On April 13, 1895, excavators working on a Roman villa near Pompeii unearthed a vaulted box containing a treasure trove of silver vessels and the remains of a leather bag containing more than 1,000 gold aurei. The intense heat from the volcanic ash, lava and pyroclastic flows from the eruption of Vesuvius left nearly all of the gold coins with a distinctive reddish discoloration which has come to be known as "Boscoreale toning." Most of the silver pieces were later purchased by the Baron Edmond de Rothchild, who donated them to the Louvre in Paris, where they are still exhibited. The coins, however, were dispersed to local collectors before any formal records could be compiled. It is known the hoard consisted of aurei from the late Roman Republic and early Empire up to and including AD 79. Although it is usually impossible to tell for certain whether any particular coin was from the Boscoreale Hoard, the presence of deep reddish toning on an aureus dating to before the eruption is regarded as highly suggestive that the coin was from this hoard, or elsewhere in the region buried by Vesuvius.