★ Rare Aureus ★

Roman Empire. Trajan 98 – 117. AU Aureus (19mm, 7.06g, 6h). Struck 117-118. DIVO TRAIANO PARTH·AVG PATRI, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right / PLOTIN – AE·AVG, draped and diademed bust of Plotina right. Cohen 1; BMC 50; Biaggi 554; RIC Hadrian 29 var (DIVI); Sear II 3881; Strack 21; Vagi 1320; Calicó 1141. Extremely rare. Piercing restored, otherwise very fine.

Provenance:
- Viscount Elzear de Quelen (1852-1887) Collection. Rollin & Feuardent, Paris, 14-26 May 1888, lot 1044. Hammer 300 Fr (without Buyer’s Premium).
- Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955) Collection. Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, auction 67, 17 October 2012, lot 315. Hammer 5000 CHF (without Buyer’s Premium).
- Ex. Hispanic Society of America No. 22177.
- The George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei. Numismatica Ars Classica, Zürich, Auction 105, 9 May 2018, lot 27. Hammer 8500 CHF (without Buyer’s Premium).

Notice on the restauration.
As the pictures form the Rollin & Feuardent show a restauration of a piercing presumable made in antiquity was already performed before the sale in 1888. At some point after the NAC sale in 2018 a former owner decided to have it professionally restored.