$39,250.00 USD
(19mm, 6.87 gm, 11h) STINA, draped, veiled bust of Diva Faustina Senior left, seen from front, wreathed with corn ears, hair elaborately waved in several loops around head, braided, drawn up and coiled on top with pearls / AVGV-STA, Ceres standing facing, veiled head left, short lighted torch upward in each hand. RIC III (Antoninus Pius) 357b. Calicó 1759. Gloriously detailed portrait in amazing high relief, struck on a highly beautiful and lustrous flan. The eye appeal is noting short of WOW. Rare.
From the Monaco Collection. Ex Roma Numismatics, Auction 9 (22 March 2015), lot 713
Ceres, goddess of agriculture and motherhood, was the central figure in Rome's "Plebian Triad," along with Liber and Libera. She is shown on the reverse of this aureus bearing torches, searching the dark underworld for her daughter Proserpina, who had been borne off by Dis Pater (Pluto).
