Although it sounds like a band from the 60's or something, the stakes were high when Hadrianus suffered braindamage (or something like that) in 136 AD and decided to adopt Aelius as his heir. This, to the suprise and against the whishes of all those involved. Lucius Aelius Caesar never lived long enough to enjoy the purple though, as he died in 138 AD. Ouch... And this necessitated Hadrian to adopt future emperor Antoninus Pius, who in turn had to adopt Lucius Verus - son of Aelius - and Marcus Aurelius - great-nephew of Hadrian by marriage - as part of the deal. Lucius Verus however was due to the same fate as his father, although he did manage to co-rule with Marcus Aurelius for about 8 years. With the denarius shown below added to my collection, I managed to complete one of my collecting goals: completing the Nerva-Antonine dynasty in silver. Aelius coins are not that rare, but I had to wait for quite a while to find a specimen that was within my price range and acceptable quality-wise. On the reverse of the coin one can see Salus standing, feeding a snake. Salus was the goddess of health, safety and welfare of the state and the individual. As Aelius was in bad shape health-wise , a better reverse could not be thought of. Ironically the behaviour of Aelius had little to do with a long and healthy lifestyle for which he probably invoked the goddess, as he was addicted to luxery and "the pleasures of the table" (quote from Sear, I like this one). With this denarius, one of my collection goals comes to an end. Not to worry though, other denominations are to be collected of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty of course, and some specimens need an upgrade, fast. Nevertheless, happy with the results, I created a digital tray of the emperors in silver. Please post your Aelius coins, and/or your adoptive emperor collection.
Coingratulations on the completion of your desired set! I don't have Aelius in an Imperial but I do have this beautiful tetradrachm-- an amazing gift from my 2018 Secret Santa: EGYPT, Alexandria. Aelius 137 CE Billon tetradrachm; 23 mm, 13.16 gm Obv: ΛAIΛIOCKAICAP; bare head right Rev: ΔHM EΞOVC VΠAT B; Homonoia standing left, holding cornucopiae and patera over garlanded altar Ref: Köln 1271; Milne 1539; Emmett 1350.2 Ex John A. Seeger Collection Gift from my CoinTalk Secret Saturn, 2018 (@Theodosius)
Congrats on achieving your goal of completing the good/adoptive emperors. Soon afterwards the historian Cassius Dio would comment that "for our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust" referring to the Severan era and early third century problems that beset the empire.
Congrats on the completion. Aelius (136 - 138 A.D.) AR Denarius O: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head right. R: TR POT COS II, Felicitas standing left, caduceus in left, cornucopia in right. Rome Mint, 137 A.D. 3.16g 18mm SRCV II 3973, RIC II Hadrian 430, RSC II 50, BMCRE III Hadrian 969
Marvelous set! Here's a humble sestertius of the man! Aelius, Caesar AD 136-138 Roman orichalcum sestertius Rome, AD 137 Obv: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head, right Rev: TR POT COS II, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising skirt Refs: RIC 1055; BMCRE 1914; Cohen 56; RCV 3986; UCR 825.
Nice collection, @Limes AELIUS RI Aelius Caesar 138 CE AE As 26mm Rome mint Fortuna-Spes cornucopia and rudder
Aelius, a dark horse to me. I still don’t have any coins of this rough-bearded gentleman. I’d like a nice AE provincial, but so far haven’t found Mr. Right.
Congrats on completing the set. Nice selection! AELIUS AR Denarius. 3.6g, 18.3mm. Rome mint, AD 136-138. RIC II Hadrian 439a. O: L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head right. R: TR POT COS II, Pietas, veiled, standing right, dropping incense from right hand over altar right and holding box of incense in left; PIE-TAS in field.
Wonderful Adoptive Emperors set @Limes. I like all your choices but the Antoninus Pius/Marcus Aurelius dynastic denarius is in my eyes the most special ( I love the type).
Thank you all, for the kind words! Lovely set, my strive for the next years is to gather a nice set in bronze, pref. sestertii! And that Commodus is pretty neat!
NERVA RI Nerva AE Dupondius 96-98 CE LIBERTAS PVBLICA -pileus TIF TRAJAN RI AE As Trajan CE 98-117 26mm 11.0g Rome Laureate Draped - SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS Victory R wreath palm S-C RIC 675 HADRIAN RI Hadrian CE 117-138 AR Denarius Salus stdg feeding Snake AELIUS RI Aelius Caesar 138 CE AE As 26mm Rome mint Fortuna-Spes cornucopia and rudder ANTONINUS PIUS RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE AR Denarius MARCUS AURELIUS RI MARCUS AURELIUS AR Den as Caesar TR POT VI COS II - Genius stg at altar hldg standard LUCIUS VERUS RI Lucius Verus 161-169 CE AR Denarius Providentia globe cornucopiae RIC 253 COMMODUS RI Commodus 177-192 CE AR Denarius 17.7mm 2.42g Apollo Plectrum Lyre RIC 218 RSC 25 BMCRE 292 Rare Type
NERVA RI Nerva AE Dupondius 96-98 CE LIBERTAS PVBLICA -pileus TIF TRAJAN RI AE As Trajan CE 98-117 26mm 11.0g Rome Laureate Draped - SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS Victory R wreath palm S-C RIC 675 HADRIAN RI Hadrian CE 117-138 AR Denarius Salus stdg feeding Snake AELIUS RI Aelius Caesar 138 CE AE As 26mm Rome mint Fortuna-Spes cornucopia and rudder ANTONINUS PIUS RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE AR Denarius MARCUS AURELIUS RI MARCUS AURELIUS AR Den as Caesar TR POT VI COS II - Genius stg at altar hldg standard LUCIUS VERUS RI Lucius Verus 161-169 CE AR Denarius Providentia globe cornucopiae RIC 253 COMMODUS RI Commodus 177-192 CE AR Denarius 17.7mm 2.42g Apollo Plectrum Lyre RIC 218 RSC 25 BMCRE 292 Rare Type
That's a nice AR set you got there @Limes ! I'm pretty weak with this gang, and have nothing of Nerva. I did luck into an Aelius drachm a ways back. Aelius Caesar, 136-138 AD, AE drachm O: bust r. draped, R: Homonia seated on throne l., holding patera. A cornucopia at her side. Ref. Dattari 2076 BMC 923 Alexandria 33 mm, 22.1g
