The meditations of my new Marcus Aurelius sestertius & why the ones we love most hurt us most

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Ryro, Oct 18, 2020.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Would that be “river patina”? I love the look, whatever one calls it.
     
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  3. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..he was truly a philosopher king-emperor..he has my respect & admiration on most all fronts..here he is with his co-pal on thier respective denarii 1191741[/ATTACH] Marcus A & Lucius Verus VIC PAR reverse 001.JPG Marcus A & Lucius Verus VIC PAR reverse 002.JPG
     
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  4. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    upload_2020-10-19_20-46-47.png

    upload_2020-10-19_20-47-13.png

    We'd all love to know the story of how our coins came down to us over the millennia... how some manuscripts survived and most did not would be extremely interesting as well.
     
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  5. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    ...It was too long ago. I don't even have the old Penguin translation. (Sorry for this --wrong context-- but I'm glad I still have some of the Icelandic sagas....)
     
  6. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    @Marsyas Mike, your copy of this translation of the Meditations is blowing my head off. ...I used to collect printed matter of the same period (and to either side), running to ephemera and odd volumes. Sorry, the 'bookseller' (publisher) doesn't ring a bell in connection with, for instance, Addison and Steele. Except, from here, your example of the book would only elicit objectionable language, so it's probably time to shut up.
    Back to, er, the coins, the examples from everyone here are spectacular. I can only wish I could find any pics for my sestertius (from ebay; it was a Good Day). In their absence, it's not worth citing my antiquated Sear, or Wildwinds. But it celebrates a victory in Parthia (from memory, still c. 160's), and the patina is Exactly the kind of olive that I want. ...Reminiscent of the Marcus Aurelius as I got as a kid, which is long gone. (Irony being that the sestertius is still here.)
     
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  7. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    I don't own any provincial MA's myself, but @cmezner has posted one, and I do know that there are plenty of Roman Egyptian MA's from Alexandria, although certainly not nearly as many as some other emperors like Hadrian -- according to Emmett, about 100 different Alexandrian MA's as Caesar (approx. 35 of them tetradrachms), and about 200 different Alexandrian MA's as Augustus (approx. 45 of them tetradrachms). By contrast, there are more than 500 different Alexandrians minted under Hadrian, more than 100 of them tetradrachms.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2020
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  8. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Here are a few Marcus Aurelius coins I own and like:

    Marcus as Caesar, in his beardless youth phase, with Honos on the reverse (RIC III 429a, RSC II 110):

    Use Marcus Aurelius Caesar, RIC 429(a), RSC 110 (DML coin, beardless).jpg

    Marcus as Augustus, with Providentia on the reverse (RIC III 50, RSC II 519):

    Marcus Aurelius-Providentia Obv 1.jpg

    Marcus Aurelius-Providentia Rev 1.jpg

    Finally, my only Marcus Aurelius bronze, a sestertius with a reverse showing him raising a kneeling figure of Italia, who is wearing a turret and holding a globe (RIC III 1078, Sear RCV II 4997). According to David Sear (see RCV II at p. 315), this coin "commemorates the deliverance of Italy from the threat of barbarian invasion resulting from the emperor's successes in his wars against the Germanic tribes of the Danubian region." I believe this is the same coin type that @dougsmit posted above.

    Marcus Aurelius sestertius jpg version (Marcus Aurelius & Italia on reverse).jpg

    Here's another image of the reverse, for which I fiddled with the exposure and color just to make it easier to see the figures in detail; the actual color is chocolate brown, as in the first photo:

    M. Aurelius sestertius Rev. 3.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2020
  9. Tony1982

    Tony1982 Well-Known Member

    Not sure if it’s a ‘river patina’ but it’s a brassy tone I like on a sestertii. I thought a river patina is more bright brass colour ?
     
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  10. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I dunno. I’m not entirely hip to the nomenclature. But I like that look.
     
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  11. octavius

    octavius Well-Known Member

    Aurelius' Meditations is one of my favorite books. I would call it down to earth advice on life. Much of it is as relevant now as it was then.
    several of his sestertii....

    b-marcus-aurelius-b-ad-161-180-ae-6293610-O.jpg 3490428.jpg marcus-aurelius-161-180-ae-sestertius-5974981-O.jpg Kk4A87GpfCc6PB8ei3Ft2A9tTz5k9s.jpg CJz6w4fNpnJ2W5sxtQo8KZ3xc9fL7T.jpg
     
  12. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

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  13. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    This one was in my mail a few days ago. It's a relatively scarce as of Marcus Aurelius, showing Tiber reclining (or is it Nylus?)
    upload_2020-10-21_10-39-23.png
    ROMAN IMPERIAL, Marcus Aurelius. Denomination: AE as, minted: Rome, Italy; 174-175 AD
    Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG [TR P XXIX], Laureate head of Marcus Aurelius to the right
    Rev: IMP VII COS III; in exergue: S C. Tiber reclining to the left, resting hand on boat.
    Weight: 9.81g; Ø:23mm. Catalogue: RIC 11142, BMC 1498. Scarce. Provenance: ; acq.: 10-2020
    From an auction description: On this type of Marcus Aurelius the figure of the river-god has been taken to be Tiber. However, coming as it does in a period of anxiety about the corn supply from Egypt during the rebellion of Cassius, it has also been suggested by Mattingly that the river-god might in fact be Nilus, though he lacks any distinguishing features to support this. It can be surmised though, that Tiber here is referencing the river itself and essential corn supply on which Rome relies.

    [1159] Marcus Aurelius - Rome, Italy (AR Denarius, 163 AD).jpg
    ROMAN IMPERIAL, Marcus Aurelius. Denomination: AR Denarius, minted: Rome, Italy; 180 AD (under Comodus)
    Obv: DIVVS M ANTONINVS PIVS: Head of Divus Marcus Aurelius, bare, right
    Rev: CONSECRATIO: Eagle, standing right on bar, head left
    Weight: 3.86g; Ø:18mm. Catalogue: RIC III 264. Provenance: Found near Tongeren (2017, Limburg, the Netherlands), ex private collection; acq.: 12-2018
     
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