Philip II, as Caesar, 244-247. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 29 mm, 19.82 g, 11 h), Rome. M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES Bare-headed and draped bust of Philip II to right, seen from behind. Rev. PRINCIPI IVVENT / S - C Philip II, as prince of the youth, standing right in military attire, holding transverse spear in his right hand and globe in his left. Cohen 55. RIC 255a. An exceptionally attractive coin with a magnificent brown patina, very well centered on a perfectly round flan. Boldly struck and with a wonderful portrait of the finest style. Very minor doubling on the letters and with light roughness behind the head, otherwise, good extremely fine.
This piece stands out strikingly from the normally fairly unremarkable Aes coinage of Philip II: not only was it sharply struck on a perfectly round flan, it must also have been lost very quickly, as it preserves an absolutely wonderful portrait and a freshness only very rarely found on 3rd century sestertii