Over 1,750 years after ending his gig as Roman Emperor, Aurelian has decided to pack his bags, book his flight, and head down to sunny rainy South Florida. The former Emperor could not be reached for comments, although presumably he might want to retire to a place where the median age is 1,700 years and bingo is the state's official sport. And if the thrill seeking Emperor (who is famous for his boundless energy) decides he needs some excitement to keep his 1,800 year old bones in shape, Miami Beach offers plenty of legal and slightly less than legal entertainment to keep him busy. For example, the Emperor could take time to hone his salsa dance skills at the world famous Coco's Nightclub, or take a cruise down Ocean Drive. However, Governor Rick Scott has warned the former Emperor to keep his genocidal tendencies in check, as it is the state's official policy to welcome Germanic invaders (tourists) flush with Euros, and reminded Aurelian that Florida is a death penalty state. We will update this story as we get further developments. Aurelian (270 - 275 A.D.) Æ Antoninianus O: IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, Radiate and cuirassed bust right. R: ORIENS AVG , Sol advancing left, raising right hand, globe in left, flanked by two captives at feet, txxt in ex Ticinum Mint 2nd Emission. 3rd Officina 3.81g RIC 151
Successor of Aurelian - Tacitus gifted to me by @Sallent *not my pictures* don't have into on my doc right now and Its too dark to see it (I'll get it up tomorrow most likely). Thanks, Jacob
I hope he likes his new spread in Florida! This Aurelian decided to retire to Illinois. Aurelian, Antoninianus, 270-275 AD O: IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG; R: RESTITVT OR_BIS, Female standing right, presenting wreath to emperor standing left, scepter in left hand S in middle field XXI in exergue Antioch Mint; 23mm, 3.8g RIC V: 386
Great Aurelian!! Love those 3rd century coins!! Great cuirassed bust! Here is another "Old Sword in Hand" Aurelian / Sol
Since he is bringing Sol along with him that should fix the weather. (Not that it will matter when he goes to the slammer... I understand he has a temper.)
Cool posts......and a very amusing introduction One of my favorites of Aurelian before he relocated to Florida
AURELIANUS: RI Aurelian 270-275 CE AE Ant Concordia-Milit HIS SPOUSAL UNIT: (wow! They are TWINS!) RI Severina Wife of Aurelian 274-275 CE BI22 Antoninianus 3-14g Rome mint Crescent Concordia RIC 317 SHARED POWER??? Yeah, THIS guy was Florida baggage for the A-man: RI Vabalathus 271-272 CE and Aurelian AE Ant
Imperator Aurelian would be proud of this tribute! I just bought this one (my first ancient) for my uncle as an Xmas present. He's into Roman/Greek ancient history and I think he'll appreciate it. Of course, I'll offer to bust it loose from its tomb if he'd like. Some day I'll figure out how to get the lighting right on these. Ancients: Aurelian (AD 270-275). BI antoninianus (4.18 gm). NGC MS 5/5 - 5/5, Silvering. ... Aurelian (AD 270-275). BI antoninianus (4.18 gm). NGC MS 5/5 - 5/5, Silvering. Ticinum, 2nd officina, AD 274. IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust of Aurelian right, seen from front / ORI-ENS AVG, Sol standing left, right hand raised, globe in left, right foot on one of two bound captives seated to either side; ZXXI (Z retrograde) in exergue. RIC 154. Note - the exergual mark should read SXXI, however, the style of the officina mark is very crisp and angular, very unlike the S in the legend.
Congrats on the Aurelian @Sallent I hope he enjoys the sun, surf, and dancing. I think Aurelian would feel right at home administering the death penalty. As I recall, it was fear of punishment that led a corrupt civil servant to convince a number of Aurelian's high ranking officials that the emperor planed to have them executed and that they had to murder him to save themselves. I have only one coin of Aurelian, which came from a JA auction. Aurelian, AD 270-275 Billon Antoninianus, 3.7g, 23mm, 12h; Serdica, AD 274. Obv: IMP AVRELIANVS AVG; Radiate, cuirassed bust right. Rev: ORIENS AVG; Sol standing left, holding globe and raising hand; two seated captives flanking // XXIP Reference: RIC online 2673. From the Aethelred Collection
That is a very nice Aurelian. Mine lacks silvering; neither has the C in the obverse legend that you quote. The XXI and S (sixth officina - out of seven - in the Greek numeral system) on mine moved up to make room for the lion. RIC does not care much about lions so both of our coins are RIC 62, Rome mint. 154 is the Cohen number. RIC 154 is a Ticinum coin with SOLI INVICTO legend and similar scene. The mintmark is distinctive with the I of XXI dropped and replaced with the T city initial. Mine is a P (officina one). RIC says they come in P to Q which means there is an SXXT version from officina two. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=46767 This is what happens when you derive catalog numbers from third party sources rather than looking them up in the book. I am not a specialist in Aurelian and can not swear to the above ID's not having kept up with changes since RIC came out so very long ago. If there is an Aurelianist among us who can straighten me out, please do. I do agree with the main point here: That is a very nice coin!
Thanks for the info! I pulled the description from HA where I won it. Since it was my first ancient, I didn't know a lot about it except it really caught my eye. After I received it and started researching it online (don't have a book for it yet), I noticed that my coin didn't exactly match the RIC 154 descriptions I found. Thanks again!