I was recently able to acquire this coin for my ongoing Roman Imperial denarii collection. MARCUS AURELIUS, AD 161-180 AR Denarius (18.15mm, 3.60g, 6h) Struck AD 174. Rome mint Obverse: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVIII, laureate and cuirassed bust of Marcus Aurelius right Reverse: IMP VII COS III, Victory seated left, holding patera and palm References: RIC III 303 var. (bust type), MIR 281-4/35 Toned with an outstanding portrait. An extremely rare variant featuring a cuirassed bust. This coin interested me for a few reasons: first, the overall style of the portrait and condition of the coin is of the highest quality; second, it is an extremely rare type, and unlisted in any reference catalog of which I am aware. The difference is in the bust type. RIC III no. 303 is the closest, but is listed for laureate only, whereas mine is laureate and cuirassed. Incidentally, I like the cuirassed bust style on these earlier denarii. There is one other specimen that matches mine, and that one was sold in 2008 as 'unique'. I haven't been able to find any other matches, which I guess that makes mine possibly the second known specimen. Interestingly I don't think the two coins share a die.
