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Lot 834
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 172. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVI, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust 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. 7.19g, 20mm, 6h. Near Mint State. Very Rare. Ex D. J. Foster Collection, Noble Numismatics 109, 28 July 2015, lot 3513; Ex Spink Noble 40, 18-20 November 1992, lot 2613; 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 this event. The depiction then of Aurelius on the reverse of this coin, wielding the power of Jupiter, seems curiously prophetic.
Lot 800
Titus, as Caesar, AV Aureus. Rome, AD 77-78. T CAESAR VESPASIANVS, laureate head right / ANNONA AVG, Annona seated to left on throne, holding cloth in lap with both hands, on which three grain ears. RIC 971; BMC 316; Calicó 726. 7.21g, 19mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Boldly struck on a broad flan. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 78, 26 May 2014, lot 898. The reverse of this detailed aureus depicts the emperor's power to care for his people through the provision of grain, personified in the form of the goddess Annona. A type utilised by both Titus, his father Vespasian and his brother Domitian, it formed part of the propaganda campaign deployed by the nascent Flavian dynasty to restore confidence in the government of the Empire, specifically in relation to the continued grain supply required to feed the people of Rome. Indeed, early in his reign and before he had ever set foot in the city as emperor, Vespasian was required to quell protests and unrest in Alexandria brought about by the imposition of new taxation policies that had disrupted the regular grain shipments from Egypt. However as emperor, Titus' reign was marred by catastrophic events beginning just two months after his accession the effects of which were far outside the scope of the Virtues which he claimed within his power. On the 24th August AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted over the Bay of Naples burying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in stone, lava and ash and killing thousands. A year later and whilst Titus was coordinating the relief effort and on his second visit to the southern coast of Italy, a fire broke out in Rome which burned for three days and nights which destroyed many important public buildings and areas of housing; in the poor living conditions of those whose houses had burned, disease broke out and brought further suffering and death to Rome. Titus himself died in 81, having only been emperor for a little over two years.
Lot 851
Septimius Severus Ó” Sestertius. Rome, AD 203. SEVERVS PIVS AVG P M TR P XI, laureate and cuirassed bust right / INDVLGENTIA AVGG, Dea Caelestis(?) riding right on lion, holding drum and sceptre, over waters gushing from rock; SC in right field, IN CARTH in exergue. Hill, Severus 619 var. (bust type); BMC -; RIC -, cf. 759 (As). 30.84g, 32mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. As he hailed from Leptis Magna in the province of Africa, the production of coins under Septimius Severus bearing this interesting reverse scene and specifically referencing Carthage in the legend have traditionally been taken to mark the granting of a special favour to this city of his native land. It is often suggested that perhaps Severus caused to have built a new aqueduct to improve the water supply, based on the presence of water in the design, though being struck as it was in AD 203 after his successful campaign during the previous year this issue is perhaps more likely to be celebrating the newly expanded and refortified province of Africa as a whole. Although not being named on the coin, that the figure on the reverse is the principle female deity of Carthage, Dea Caelestis, is a generally accepted point. Also understood is Severus' attachment to the province of Africa, and therefore we can assume a continued reverence and worship of the traditional deities of the land by the Emperor. Perhaps then we might see in the scene depicted here the emperor appropriating the local deity of Carthage and carrying her to Rome over the waves of the Mediterranean, just as we see the similar action taken by a later emperor of the Severan dynasty marked in the numismatic record with reverse types showing the transportation of the sacred Stone of Emesa to Rome by Elagabalus in 218.
Lot 261
Tanzanite and Diamond Trilogy Ring, three oval cut tanzanites, of excellent colour, the central stone alone being 1ct, framed with a 'ribbon' of round cut diamonds, the whole totalling approximately 2.5cts, set in 9ct white gold; tanzanite, becoming increasingly difficult to mine, found only in a small area at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania is a Birthstone for December; size O/P
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