Lot 4379

Lydia / Hypaepa - With Statilia Messalina - AE24 (AD 66-68, 12.61 g) - Confronted busts of Statilia Messalina on left and Nero on right / Cult statue of Artemis Ephesia (RPC I 2545) - rare, a bit rough, a.VF. Very rare provincial issue of this empress. Around 65, she became Nero's mistress. After the death of the emperor's second wife Poppaea, her husband Vestinus was forced to commit suicide in 66, so Nero could marry Statilia.