MICHAEL III, the Drunkard. 842-867 AD. AV Solidus (4.35 gm). Struck 
      842-843 AD(?). Constantinople mint. QEOdO-RA dESPVnA, crowned bust of 
      Theodora facing, holding clobus cruciger and cruciform sceptre / .mIXAHL S 
      Q-ECLA, crowned facing busts of Michael on left, wearing crown and holding 
      globus cruciger, and Thecla on right, holding long patriarchal cross. DOC 
      III 1e; BN 3; SB 1686. EF. Extremely rare, one of only three specimens 
      known! [See color plate 15] ($20,000) Of the three known specimens, one 
      resides in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, another, 
      formerly in the Hunt Collection, was most recently sold in a Sotheby's 
      auction (An Important Private Collection of Byzantine Coins, 2 November 
      1998, lot 462; realized $24,000), and this, the third specimen, is 
      apparently a new discovery.


Triton V Sale, 16 Jan 2002, lot 2296.

  Lot was unsold.

By permission of CNG, www.cngcoins.com.