Nero, as Augustus (AD 54-68). AV aureus (19mm, 7.34 gm, 5h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 4/5, "Boscoreale" Tone. Rome, ca. AD 64-65. NERO CAESAR-AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Nero right / IVPPITER-CVSTOS, Jupiter enthroned left, bare to waist, cloak around lower limbs, thunderbolt downward in right hand, grounded scepter in left. Calicó 412. RIC I 52. A phenomenal coin with stunning autumnal toning that is the tell tale sign that this coin could be from the Boscoreale Hoard. Ex H. D. Rauch, Summer Auction 2012 (20 September 2012), lot 812; Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 58 (19 September 2001), lot 1110. In 1894 or 1895, excavators working on a Roman villa near the buried city of Pompeii unearthed an amazing treasure trove that included silver table vessels and 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 distinctive reddish hues which has come to be known as "Boscoreale toning." Although it is known that the hoard consisted of coins from all the reigns up to and including AD 78, no formal records were made of the hoard before it was dispersed to local museums and coin collectors. Although it is 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 was found elsewhere in the vicinity of Pompeii or Herculaneum. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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