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Click here to subscribeMarcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, March-December AD 161. IMP CAES M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PROV DEOR TR XV COS III, Providentia standing left, holding globe and cornucopiae. Calicó 1904; BMC 14; C. -; RIC 20. 7.00g, 19mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare, only two other examples on CoinArchives, both in low grade.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 164. ANTONINVS AVG ARMENIACVS, laureate, cuirassed bust right / P M TR P XVIII • IMP II COS III, Victory standing right, holding stylus in right hand, resting left hand on round shield inscribed VIC AVG in two lines, set on palm tree. C. 466 (misdescribed); BMC 270 note; RIC 90 var. (with drapery); Calicó 1887 var. (with drapery). 6.76g, 18mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, December 164-August 165. ANTONINVS AVG ARMENIACVS, laureate and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P XIX • IMP II COS III, Victory standing right, holding stylus in right hand, resting left hand on round shield inscribed VIC AVG in two lines, set on palm tree. C. 475 var. (bare-headed); BMC 364 note; RIC 128; Calicó 1890. 6.80g, 19mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 171-172. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVI, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / IMP VI COS III, Victory standing right, holding shield inscribed VIC GER set on tree. RIC 256; C. 270; Calicó 1865. 7.00g, 19mm, 12h. Mint State. Extremely Rare. No examples have appeared at auction in over 15 years. In the early 160s Germanic tribes and other nomadic people began launching a series of raids along the northern border of the empire, particularly into Gaul and across the Danube. This new impetus westwards was probably due to attacks from tribes further east. A first invasion of the Chatti in the province of Germania Superior was repulsed in 162. A far more serious incursion happened in late 166 or early 167 when a force of 6,000 Langobardi and Lacringi invaded Pannonia. This invasion was defeated by local forces (vexillations of the Legio I Adiutrix and the Ala I Ulpia Contariorum) with relative ease, but they marked the beginning of what was to come. In the same year, Vandals (Astingi and Lacringi) and the Sarmatian Iazyges invaded Dacia, and succeeded in killing its governor, Calpurnius Proculus. In 169 the Iazyges defeated and killed Claudius Fronto, Roman governor of Lower Moesia, who was attempting to subdue the tribes living between the Danube and the province of Dacia. While the Roman army was bogged down in this campaign other tribes took the opportunity to raid across the border. To the east, the Costoboci crossed the Danube, ravaged Thrace and descended the Balkans, reaching Eleusis, near Athens, where they destroyed the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The worst was yet to come. In the west the Marcomanni, led by Ballomar, had formed a coalition of Germanic tribes. They crossed the Danube and won a decisive victory over a force of 20,000 Roman soldiers near Carnuntum. The larger part of this host then proceeded southwards towards into, while the remainder ravaged Noricum. The Marcomanni razed Opitergium (Oderzo) and besieged Aquileia - this was the first time hostile forces had entered Italy since 101 BC, when Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and Teutones. The praetorian prefect Furius Victorinus was defeated and slain while trying to relieve the city. The invaders would not be ejected until 171, a ‘victory’ which required stripping various border regions of their forces to concentrate against the Marcomanni, the establishment of a new military command, the fortification of the Alpine borders and the strengthening of the Danubian fleet. In 172 Aurelius led a counter-invasion across the Danube into Marcomannic territory. Few details survive of this punitive campaign, but it is clear that the Romans achieved success. The Marcomanni and their allies, the Naristi and the Cotini were subjugated, and the chief of the Naristi was killed by the Roman General Marcus Valerius Maximianus. The reverse of this coin celebrates the successes of Aurelius’ counter-attack, and perhaps to a lesser extent the expulsion of the Germanic invaders that had ravaged the Alpine provinces.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 172. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVI, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Marcus Aurelius to right / IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius in military dress standing to left, holding thunderbolt in his right hand and reversed spear in his left; behind him stands Victory, who crowns him with a wreath held in her right hand, and holds a palm with her left; between them, pellet. Biaggi 856; BMC 566; C. 308; Foss 46; RIC 264; Sear II 4860; Calicó 1873. 6.95g, 20mm, 6h. Near Mint State. Very Rare. The image of the emperor on the reverse of this coin is not only unusual, but also historically very interesting. Aurelius has here assumed the symbols of Jupiter, holding a thunderbolt and spear while Victory crowns him with laurels; we should interpret this image as representing the close connection between the supreme god Jupiter and the person of the emperor who was not only the head of state but also the pontifex maximus. Yet the dating of this issue seems to precede two important events that occurred across the Danube in the campaign of 172-4: namely, the 'lightning miracle' and the 'rain miracle', which two incidents are recorded on the column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. The Historia Augusta (Marcus 24.2) tells us that in the case of the 'lightning miracle' the emperor 'summoned a thunderbolt from heaven against a siege-engine of the enemy by means of his prayers' - the column clearly shows a stone enclosure filled with Romans, and outside a siege tower struck by a bolt of lightning that has burst into flames. The second and more important of the two events, the 'rain miracle' as related by Cassius Dio, describes how the legio XII Fulminata was surrounded and entangled in a defile, suffering from thirst, and almost forced to surrender. A sudden storm then gave abundance of rain which refreshed the Romans, while hail and thunder confounded their enemies who were struck down by bolts of lightning. Thus the Romans were able to achieve a near bloodless victory. This was considered for a long time afterwards to have been a miracle and nothing less than divine intervention by Jupiter on behalf of the Romans. That the issue pre-dates the rain miracle seems relatively certain, since it is well attested that Aurelius' seventh acclamation as Imperator occurred in the immediate aftermath of the rain miracle. The depiction then of Aurelius on the reverse of this coin, wielding the power of Jupiter, seems curiously prophetic.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 173-174. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVIII, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius on horseback right, raising right hand, parazonium at his side. Calicó 1869; RIC 294; C. 303. 7.09g, 19mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin. Extremely Rare, no examples have been offered at auction for more than 15 years. Perhaps struck to coincide with a triumph relating to his campaigns against the Marcomanni, Quadi and Iazyges which was delayed until after a revolt in the east led by Avidius Cassius could be put down, the reverse of this coin depicts the famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Cast in bronze and clad in gold, it is today the only fully surviving bronze statue of a pre-Christian emperor. Although there had been many imperial equestrian statues, most were melted down for their metal to be used either for coin or new sculptures. Many were also destroyed for no better reason than because medieval Christians thought that they were pagan idols. It is only because this statue was erroneously believed to be of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, that it was not also destroyed. The original position of the statue is debated, though the Forum Romanum and the Piazza Colonna (where Aurelian’s column stands) are likely suggestions. In the 8th century it stood in the Lateran Palace in Rome, from where it was relocated in 1538 to the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill) during Michelangelo’s redesign of the Hill. Though he disagreed with its central positioning, he designed a special pedestal for it. The original statue is now on display in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, and a replica now overlooks Rome in its stead. Standing at over 4 metres tall, the statue shows Marcus Aurelius holding his right hand out and slightly open in the traditional gesture of peace and clemency; some historians assert that a fallen enemy may have been sculpted begging for mercy under the horse’s raised hoof (based on accounts from medieval times which suggest that a small figure of a bound barbarian chieftain once crouched underneath the horse’s front right leg). It is a fitting representation of an emperor who has been universally admired as a philosopher-emperor, and who saw himself not as a conqueror but as a bringer of peace - an attitude evidenced by the emperor being garbed in a toga rather than military dress.
Faustina Junior AV Aureus. Rome, circa AD 145. Struck under Antoninus Pius. FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust left, wearing hair fastened in bun at back of head / CONCORDIA, dove standing to right. RIC III 503b (Pius); Strack 507; Calicó 2044c (same dies); Biaggi 922 (same obv. die); BMCRE 1090. 7.32g, 20mm, 4h. Near Mint State; very minor marks, light brush mark on left obv. field. Rare. Struck under her father Antoninus Pius, this magnificent aureus commemorates the April AD 145 marriage of Annia Galeria Faustina Junior to her maternal cousin Marcus Aurelius. The marriage was arranged by her father Antoninus at the time of his adoption and nomination as successor by Hadrian. Faustina had previously been engaged to Lucius Verus, whose father had been Hadrian’s designated heir until the time of his death. At the time of the engagement Antoninus also formally adopted Aurelius. Since Aurelius was therefore legally Antoninus Pius' son, under Roman law he was marrying his sister; Antoninus would thus have had to formally release Faustina from his paternal authority for the ceremony to take place. Little is specifically known of the ceremony, but the Historia Augusta claims it to have been noteworthy. The reverse type featuring the dove and the legend CONCORDIA relate directly to the invocation of the goddess for a harmonious and stable marriage, while the dove is known to be monogamous throughout its lifetime. Faustina accompanied Aurelius on various military campaigns, which perhaps gave rise to the vicious rumours and negative views that Roman sources generally give of her character. The Historia Augusta alleges that she consorted with soldiers, gladiators and men of rank, and that she was perhaps behind the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband in 175. However, she was held in high esteem by her husband and was given divine honours after her death.
Lucilla Æ Sestertius. AD 169-183. LVCILLA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, hair in bunch at back of the head / IVNO REGINA, Juno standing facing in long dress, veiled head turned left, holding sceptre and patera; at her feet, peacock left, S-C across fields. RIC 1751; C. 43; BMC 1207. 25.98g, 34mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Lightly tooled and smoothed.
Commodus, as Caesar, Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 175-176. Struck under Marcus Aurelius. L AVREL COMMODO CAES AVG FIL GERM SARM, bareheaded, draped and cuirassed bust right / IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, holding sceptre and thunderbolt and unfolding mantle above Commodus standing left, holding palladium and parazonium; S-C acorss fields. RIC 1525; BMC 1524; C. 244. 29.95g, 31mm, 11h. Good Very Fine. Rare. From the Mark Gibbons Collection; Ex Numismatik Lanz 157, 9 December 2013, lot 330.
Commodus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 177. IMP L AVREL COMMODVS AVG GERM SARM, laureate and draped bust right / TR P II COS P P, two captives seated at foot on trophy of arms, one with hands bound, the other in attitude of mourning; DE SARM in exergue. RIC 634 (Aurelius); Calicó 2239 (this coin); Mazzini 98 (this coin); Biaggi 985 (this coin). 7.20g, 19mm, 5h. Near Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 49, 21 October 2008, lot 291; Ex Biaggi Collection, privately purchased in 1958. That this was the best example which could be found by either Biaggi for his superlative collection or by Calicó for his comprehensive illustrative work on the Roman aurei is an indicator of how rare this coin actually is. It is furthermore the only example present on CoinArchives, being the only specimen of its type to have been offered to the market since electronic records began. The victory to which the reverse of this coin refers is that achieved by Marcus Aurelius over the Sarmatian Iazyges in AD 175, in the closing phase of the First Marcomannic War. After several military successes, Aurelius ended hostilities by signing a treaty with the Iazyges which secured the release of over 100,000 Roman captives, and which additionally required that 6,000 Sarmatian auxiliary cavalrymen be provided to the Roman army. Most of these (approximately 5,500) were immediately dispatched to Britain, a deployment which has been theorised by Susan V. Tomory (A New View of the Arthurian Legends, Institute of Hungarian studies) to have played a part in the development of the Arthurian legend. This was a decisive victory for Aurelius, and indeed the Iazyges never again represented a threat to the empire. Assuming the title Sarmaticus, Aurelius and Commodus celebrated a joint triumph on 23 December 176, in commemoration of which the Aurelian column was erected to mirror the achievements of his predecessor Trajan. Four days later Commodus was granted the title of Imperator, and in the middle of the following year he was proclaimed Augustus to formally share power alongside his father.
Commodus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 183-184. M COMMODVS ANTON AVG PIVS, laureate and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P VIIII IMP VI COS IIII P P, Jupiter standing to left, holding sceptre and thunderbolt; at his feet, an eagle standing to left with head reverted. BMC 116 var.; RIC 70 var.; Calicó 2299 var. 7.19mm, 20mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Apparently Unique. One of only three examples of this type that have appeared at auction in fifteen years, this coin's rarity is dramatically underestimated by RIC and Calicó. The Biaggi specimen, which was sold in NAC 49 in October 2008 (lot 295) and subsequently resold by Hirsch was only 'Very Fine' in grade, and was the best example that could be found by Calicó for inclusion in that reference work. A further example with a variant bust type was recently offered in a Heritage auction. The cataloguers of that coin also noted the discrepancy between its stated rarity in the references and the number of actual examples present in the market. This example is also a variant of RIC 70/Calicó 2299, as the bust does not display the drapery which is present on the Biaggi/Calicó or BM examples. The obverse die is in fact one used in conjunction with the Jupiter seated type (RIC 69); its use with this reverse die is previously unknown. The meglomania of Commodus' later years is well attested in the ancient sources, with his worship of Hercules becoming so intense that eventually he came to believe himself an incarnation of the mythological hero. Other reverse types boldly proclaim his aspirations to divinity and attest to Commodus' belief that he was a demi-god and the son of Jupiter - the sponsor, or guardian, of the security and health of the emperor.
Commodus Æ Bimetallic Medallion. Rome, AD 189. M COMMODVS ANTONINVS PIVS FELIX AVG BRIT, laureate draped and cuirassed bust right / MINER VICT P M TR P XIIII IMP VIII, Minerva, helmeted, wearing chiton and himation, standing left, holding spear in left hand and Victory on right; oval shield at feet to left, trophy of arms with shields at base to right; COS V P P in exergue. Gnecchi II, p. 57, 48; MIR p. 18, 1132 (issue 59/60). 70.01g, 41mm, 6h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex Numismatik Lanz 145, 5 January 2009, lot 127; Ex Egger XXXIX, 15 January 1912, lot 1057; Deaccessioned from the collection of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. Medallions were struck relatively often during this period, produced by the mint of Rome toward the end of the year, their purpose being not for financial circulation but for distribution as commemorative gifts to foreign dignitaries or other persons of merit. Their bimetallic composition was for primarily aesthetic reasons, and a means by which Rome (and the mint workers) could show off a technical accomplishment. Commodus is often credited by the ancient sources with the near destruction of the Roman Empire, through a combination of disinterest in the governance of Rome and an all-consuming belief that he was of god-like status. With his accession, says the contemporary historian Cassius Dio, 'our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as affairs did for the Romans of that day' (LXXII.36.4). By the latter years of his reign when this medallion was struck, Commodus believed Hercules was his divine patron, and he worshipped him so intensely that eventually he came to believe himself an incarnation of the mythological hero, reinforcing the image he was cultivating of himself as a demigod who, as the son of Jupiter, was the representative of the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. The growing megalomania of the emperor permeated all areas of Roman life, as is witnessed in the material record by the innumerable statues erected around the empire that had been set up portraying him in the guise of Hercules, and his coinage.
Didia Clara, Daughter of Didius Julianus, AV Aureus. March-May AD 193. DIDIA CLARA AVG, draped bust right / HILAR TEMPOR, Hilaritas standing left, holding palm branch in right hand and cornucopiae in left. C. 2; BMC 13 (Didius Julianus); RIC 10 (same); Calicó 2402. Very Fine. Scattered marks and scratches. Extremely Rare. Ex Sotheby's 'Collection of Highly Important Greek and Roman Coins', 20 June 1979; lot 123; Ex Münzen & Medaillen XXI, 9 March 1960, lot 64; Ex Vicomte de Quelen Collection, Rollin-Feuardent, 7 May 1888, lot 1267. This aureus, struck in the year her father bought the throne of the Roman Empire at auction, shows Didia Clara as the proud bearer of the title Augusta which she and her mother Manlia Scantilla had assumed. Although she was allegedly the most beautiful woman in all of Rome, we know hardly anything about her life. She was married to Cornelius Repentinus, who served as a prefect of Rome during her father’s brief reign. Silver coins of this enigmatic Augusta are rare, and in gold they are very seldom seen.
Pescennius Niger AR Denarius. Antioch, AD 193-194. IMP CAES C PESC NIGER IVST AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIAE AVG, Niger standing left, holding globe and sword hilt, crowned by Victory standing left behind him, holding palm. RIC -; BMC -; RSC -. Cf. CNG 69, 8 June 2005, lot 1648 & HJ Berk 126, 23 April 2002, lot 348 & Roma 7, 22 March 2014, lot 1090 for same reverse but with different obv. bust type. 2.89g, 19mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Beautifully sound metal, attractively toned. Apparently unique and unpublished, and undoubtedly the finest of just four coins bearing this reverse type, and certainly also in the first rank of all surviving denarii of Pescennius Niger. The scarcity of Pescennius Niger's coinage today belies the fact that it was struck on a monumental scale, and we can only assume that after his defeat at the hands of Septimius Severus in AD 194 his coins were meticulously recalled and melted. Although it has been extensively published, there are such a huge number of minor varieties that no single catalogue is without numerous lacunae. It appears that the all of Niger's coins were struck at Antioch and possibly a subsidiary mint operating at Caesarea in Cappadocia.
Pescennius Niger AR Denarius. Antioch, AD 193-194. IMP CAES C PESC NIGER IVST AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIAE AVG, Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm branch. RIC IV 86 var. (obv. legend and bust type); RSC 74 var. (same). 2.30g, 18mm, 2h. Near Very Fine, porous, scrapes on bust. Rare bust type, apparently unpublished with this reverse type. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Clodius Albinus, as Caesar, Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 194-195. D CLOD SEPT ALBIN CAES, bareheaded bust right, slight drapery / FELICITAS COS II, Felicitas, draped, standing left, holding caduceus and sceptre; S-C across field. RIC 52b; Banti 6. 21.60g, 29mm, 12h. Very Fine. Attractive green patina.
Julia Domna AR Antoninianus. Rome, AD 215-217. IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, set on crescent / LVNA LVCIFERA, Luna driving biga of horses to left, with fold of drapery floating around and above head. RIC 379a (Caracalla); RSC 106. 3.35g, 19mm, 7h. Good Extremely Fine.
Caracalla AR Denarius. Rome, AD 198-199. IMP CAES M AVR ANTON AVG, laureate and draped bust right / SECVRIT ORBIS, Securitas seated right on throne, resting head upon hand and holding sceptre; lighted and garlanded altar to right. RIC IV 22; C. 571. 3.15g, 19mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Well detailed reverse.
Caracalla Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 210-213. M AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SECVRITATI PERPETVAE, Securitas seated to right in front of altar, propping head on hand and holding sceptre; S-C in exergue. RIC 512a; C. 576. 24.36g, 31mm, 12h. Very Fine.
Macrinus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 218. IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae. RIC IV 53; Clay Issue 3; RSC 2b (Antioch). 3.41g, 20mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine, area of roughness on reverse. Rare bust type for issue. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Macrinus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 217-218. IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing facing, head right, resting foot on globe, holding two standards. RIC 67; BMC 65; RSC 23f. 3.26g, 20mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Macrinus Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 217-218. IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right / PONTIF MAX TR P P P, Felicitas standing left holding long caduceus and cornucopiae; S-C across fields. C. 80; RIC 121. 25.94g, 32mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine; minor cleaning marks on obverse.
Julia Paula AR Denarius. Rome, AD 219-220. IVLIA PAVLA AVG, draped bust right / CONCORDIA, Concordia seated left, holding patera in her extended right hand, resting left arm on armrest; star in left field. RIC IV 211 (Elagabalus); Thirion 452; RSC 6a; BMCRE 172-4. 3.53g, 19mm, 6h. Extremely Fine.
Julia Paula AR Denarius. Rome, AD 219-220. IVLIA PAVLA AVG, draped bust right / CONCORDIA, Concordia seated left, holding patera in her extended right hand, resting left arm on armrest; star in left field. RIC IV 211 (Elagabalus); Thirion 452; RSC 6a; BMCRE 172-4. 3.46g, 19mm, 12h. Extremely Fine.
Julia Maesa Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 220-222. Struck under Elagabalus. IVLIA MAESA AVG, draped bust right / SAECVLI FELICITAS, Felicitas standing left, holding long caduceus and sacrificing out of patera over lighted altar to left; S-C across, star in right field. RIC 422; Thirion 427; Banti 11. 22.42g, 29mm, 12h. Very Fine.
Severus Alexander AR Denarius. Rome, AD 231. IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate bust right, slight drapery / FIDES MILITVM, Fides seated left, holding signum in each hand. RIC IV 193; BMC 684; RSC 51. 3.08g, 20mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine. From the Mark Gibbons Collection; Ex Classical Numismatic Group e254, 20 April 2011, lot 312.
Julia Mamaea AR Denarius. Rome, circa AD 232. IVLIA MAMAEA AVG, diademed and draped bust right / FECVND AVGVSTAE, Fecunditas standing left, holding cornucopiae and extending right hand over child before her. RIC 331; RSC 5. 3.22g, 19mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Ex Freeman & Sear MBS 15, 27 June 2008, lot 405.
Maximinus I AR Denarius. Rome, AD 236. IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P II COS P P, Maximinus standing left between two signa, raising hand and holding sceptre. RIC IV 3; BMCRE 77-9; RSC 55. 2.90g, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine, light green deposit. Superbly rendered reverse. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Gordian III AV Aureus. Rome, late AD 240-early AD 243. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, the 'Farnese' Hercules standing facing, head right, resting right hand on hip and placing left on club set on rock; lion skin beside club. RIC 108; Calicó 3242. 5.03g, 20mm, 12h. About Extremely Fine.
Philip I Æ As. Rome, AD 244. IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / PAX AETERNA, Pax standing facing, head left, holding branch and transverse sceptre. RIC 184b. 9.59g, 24mm, 11h. Extremely Fine. Very well preserved for the issue. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Trebonianus Gallus Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 253. IMP CAES C VIBIVS TREBONIANVS GALLVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / APOLLO SALVTARI, Apollo standing left, holding branch and resting hand on lyre set on rock; S-C across fields. RIC 104a; Banti 6. 17.53g, 30mm, 12h. Good Very Fine.
Aemilian AR Antoninianus. Rome, AD 253. IMP CAES AEMILIANVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / P M TR P I P P, Aemilian standing left, sacrificing over altar from patera and holding sceptre; standard behind to the left. RIC IV 7; RSC 32. 3.34g, 20mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine.
Divus Valerian II Æ Sestertius. Rome, circa AD 258. Consecration issue, struck under Valerian I and Gallienus. DIVO CAES VALERIANO, bareheaded and draped bust right / CONSECRATIO, Funeral pyre in five tiers, the highest and lowest ornamented with festoons, the three between with standing figures, surmounted by Valerian II in spread biga; SC in exergue. RIC 35; Banti 3; Hunter 6.18.61g, 29mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Rare.
Carausius Æ Antoninianus. 'C' mint, AD 286-293. IMP C CARAVSIVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / PAX AVG, Pax standing left holding branch and sceptre; S–P across field. C. 194; RIC 475; Hunter 131. 4.92g, 23mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. An exceptional example of the type, sharply struck, well detailed and perfectly preserved.
Claudius II Gothicus Æ Antoninianus. Mediolanum, circa AD 268-269. IMP CLAVDIVS PF AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / FIDES MILIT, Fides standing facing, head left, holding standards; S in exergue. Cf. RIC V 149 (bust type); Huvelin, 'Chronologie du règne de Claude II le Gothique,' QT XXI (1992), pg. 312; Venèra 9251; cf. Cohen 89 (same). 4.10g, 20mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Rare.
Aurelian AV Binio (Double Aureus). Antioch, January-September AD 275. IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / RESTITVTOR ORIENTIS, Sol standing left with one hand raised and the other holding whip, chlamys over shoulder; at feet, two captives looking to left; IL in exergue. RIC -; C. -; BN -; MIR -; Calicó -; NAC 27, 12 May 2004, 479. 6.99g, 23mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Extremely Rare, apparently the second known specimen. In 272, Aurelian turned his attention to the lost eastern provinces of the empire, the so-called Palmyrene Empire ruled by Queen Zenobia, which encompassed Syria, Palestine, Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor. Despite a pragmatic acknowledgement of Zenobia and Vabalathus at the beginning of his reign, and having granted them both the titles they craved, Aurelian's driving ambition was to reunify and secure the sundered parts of the Roman empire. Marching east, Asia Minor was recovered with minimal resistance. Every city but Byzantium and Tyana surrendered quickly, and having spared Tyana from sack and despoliation supposedly because Apollonius of Tyana (a first century philosopher whom he greatly admired) appeared to him in a dream and implored him to mercy, many more cities submitted peacefully knowing that they would be treated leniently. Within six months, Aurelian stood at the gates of Palmyra. Zenobia was captured while attempting to flee, and paraded in golden chains in Aurelian's triumph in Rome. The recovery of Egypt by the future emperor Probus and a return to Palmyra to deal with a Palmyrene rebel named Antiochus finally secured the eastern provinces. Aurelian was given the title of Restitutor Orientis (Restorer of the East) by the Senate, who would soon after confer upon him the title of Restitutor Orbis (Restorer of the World) when he brought the breakaway Gallic provinces back into the fold, thus reunifying the empire. In 275, Aurelian was preparing another campaign against the Sassanids. The deaths of Shapur I and Hormizd I in quick succession (272 and 273 respectively), and the rise to power of a weaker ruler (Bahram I), set the conditions for an invasion of the Sassanid Empire. Aurelian however never reached Asia Minor. He was assassinated by officers of the Praetorian guard who had been tricked by one of the emperor's secretaries into believing Aurelius had ordered their executions. Zosimus tells us the secretary's name was Eros, and that he feared punishment because he had told a lie on a minor issue. Thus perished one of the most competent and promising emperors of the age.
Zenobia Æ Antoninianus. Antioch, March-May AD 272. S ZENOBIA AVG, draped bust right, set on crescent / IVNO REGINA, Juno standing facing, looking left, holding patera and sceptre; at feet left, a peacock; star in left field. RIC 2 corr. (no star); Carson, Q. Tic VII, 1978, 4; BN 1267a. 3.79g, 20mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare. The wife of the ruler of Palmyra, Septimia Zenobia came to power as regent for her son Septimius Vabalathus in AD 267 after the murder of her husband Septimius Odenathus, who had been entrusted with the defence of the Roman provinces in the east by the Emperor Gallienus. A strong character and very ambitious, Zenobia expanded her sphere of influence through the capture of the province of Egypt and the expulsion of the Roman prefect Tenagino Probus and his forces in 269, a campaign aided in its success in part due to the turmoil inside the Roman Empire after the death of Gallienus. The Roman east remained under the control of the kingdom of Palmyra under the subsequent emperors Claudius II and Quintillus, and when Aurelian came to power in 270 he pragmatically chose to acknowledge Zenobia and Vabalathus in order to allow himself time to first deal with various barbaric incursions and usurpers. Though the mint for the rare portrait coins of Zenobia has long been a topic of debate, it is generally agreed now that they were struck in Syria, most likely at Emesa or Antioch, both Roman mints that were taken by Zenobia during her advance into Roman territory and expansion of her empire. The imperial title Augusta is proudly displayed on her coinage, but Zenobia's power was not to last. Having subdued the uprisings in the west, Aurelian marched on her with an army. Their forces met outside Antioch, resulting in a battle that routed Zenobia's army, which fled to Emesa. Zenobia and her son attempted to escape through the desert with the help of the Sassanid Persians, but were captured by Aurelian's horsemen and subsequently taken to Rome to be displayed during the emperor's triumphant return to the city.
Probus Silvered Æ Antoninianus. Rome, AD 276. IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, radiate bust left, wearing imperial mantle and holding eagle-tipped sceptre / SOLI INVICTO, Sol standing facing in spread quadriga, raising hand and holding globe and whip; RB below. RIC 204; Pink VI/1 p. 55. 4.34g, 22mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Exceptionally well preserved. From the Mark Gibbons Collection.
Numerian AV Aureus. Rome, AD 284. IMP NVMERIANVS P F AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS AVGG, Hercules standing to right, leaning on club with his left hand and resting his left on his hip. Biaggi -; Calicó 4332-33; C. 100; RIC 407. 4.66g, 21mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. The great rarity of this coin is in large part due to the brevity of Numerian’s reign. In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum rebelled and proclaimed the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus emperor in opposition to Probus. Probus’ army, stationed in Sirmium, decided they did not wish to fight Carus and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, immediately elevated his sons Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar. In 283 Carus determined to take advantage of a succession crisis within the Sassanid empire, and marched east at the head of an army along with Numerian, while Carinus was left in charge in the West. The invasion met with great success, and the army was able to make huge incursions into Persian lands, and even capture the capital Ctesiphon. The campaign came to a premature end when Carus died suddenly (according to some sources, from a lightning strike). Numerian made an orderly retreat from Persia, and subsequently died in mysterious circumstances during the journey west. Amid rumours of murder, the prefect Aper was executed by the man who went on to become emperor. Diocletian, previously an officer under Carus, was acclaimed by the army and proceeded to continue the march west, meeting Carinus’ army in battle in Moesia and emerging as victor and emperor. The reverse of this stunning aureus typifies the propagandist nature of Roman coinage, and bestows on Numerian the quality of ‘virtus’, which encompassed valour, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth - the necessary attributes of a Roman and especially of an emperor. Coupled with the standing figure of Hercules, with his usual attributes of club and lion’s skin, this reverse references the military victories that Numerian and Carus achieved in the east and likens them to the completion of Hercules’ labours.
Diocletian AV Aureus. Antioch, AD 284-286. IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / IOVI CONSERVATORI AVG, Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre, O at his feet; SMA in exergue. C. 272; RIC 316; Depeyrot 1/1; Calicó 4515a. 4.27g, 21mm, 6h. Heavy brush marks in fields, otherwise Good Extremely Fine.
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