Massive Roman Gold Medallion Sells for Record $2.3 million

A spectacular Roman gold medallion sold to an anonymous phone bidder for $2.3 million at Classical Numismatic Group LLC’s Triton XXVI auction in New York City, shattering the record for the highest price paid for a Roman Imperial coin.

The huge coin, a unique 10-aurei gold medallion of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-305A.D.), is larger than a U.S. $20 gold piece and nearly twice as heavy, with a powerful portrait of the emperor on the obverse and the seated figure of a muscular god Jupiter on the reverse. The largest Roman gold coin to sell at auction in well over a century, it was lot 830 and the highest-value coin in the two-day Triton XXVI auction, which realized just under $14 million total including buyer’s premium, nearly double the presale estimate. The sale took place at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in Manhattan as part of the week leading up to the 51st 2023 New York International Numismatic Convention, where coin dealers and collectors gather from all over the world.

CNG auctioneer Jeff Rill expertly managed the bidding for the piece, which started with an internet entry of $475,000 on the firm’s website, www.cngcoins.com, then moved to a dwindling handful of floor bidders and two agents on cell phones representing remote bidders as the price rocketed past the $500,000 estimate and beyond the $1 million mark. Bidding was intense as the price moved beyond the $1.65 million record for a Roman imperial coin, which had stood since 2008.

The medallion, termed a denio by specialists, is nearly 40mm in diameter and weighs 53.65 grams. It is believed to have been struck in 294 A.D. to mark Diocletian’s tenth anniversary of rule. The Diocletian denio was encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation with an extraordinary grade of Choice AU★, Strike: 5/5, Surface 5/5, Fine Style.

In addition to the Diocletian medallion, many other coins in Triton XXVI shot past the $100,000 mark (all prices include buyer’s premium):

● $428,750 for lot 1067, an artistic Indian gold Heavy Mohur of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.

● $336,875 for lot 639, and extremely rare Roman gold aureus of Mark Antony.

● $196,000 for lot 181, a beautiful Greek gold stater of Pantikapaion on the Black Sea.

● $159,250 for lot 497, a rare Greco-Baktrian silver tetradrachm of the mysterious ruler Zoilos “the Just.”

● $147,000 for lot 1282, a stunning 1893 Victoria Proof 5 Pounds, graded NGC Proof 66 Ultra Cameo.

● $134,750 for lot 507, a tiny Indian gold quarter-dinar of the Kushan King Kanishka, of the only ancient gold coins depicting a figure of buddha.

● $134,750 for lot 1253, an impressive gold “Ship Ryal” of the English Queen Elizabeth I.