Severus Alexander, 222-235. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 32 mm, 26.65 g, 12 h), Rome, 230. IMP SEV ALEXANDER AVG Laureate head of Severus Alexander to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder. Rev. VICTORIA AVGVSTI / S - C Victory standing right, inscribing VOT / X in two lines on shield set on trunk of palm tree. BMC 643. Cohen 567. RIC 616. Smoothed and somewhat tooled, otherwise, good very fine.


Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750) was a Venetian librettist and humanist who worked as poet laureate in Vienna in 1715-1729, where he also curated the imperial coin collection of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740). His collection was preserved for more than two-hundred years, until eventually being sold by Dorotheum in 1955, thus forming one of the oldest and most celebrated pedigrees in ancient numismatics.