Reviving an old thread. Envious of the OP coin and @Cucumbor 's Verus. Absolutely stunning. I decided to put my Marcuses in Chronological order: - Michael
Another Marcus with a question: *image cropped from NGC slab Marcus Aurelius. 161-180 AD. AR Denarius (3.67 gm). Struck 166-167 AD. M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, laureate head right / TR P XXI IMP IIII COS III, Providentia standing left, holding sceptre and wand over globe. Acquired this today. Probably the best looking Denarius in my collection. Looking for more examples, I came across this exact coin on wild winds. It was auctioned in 2001 by CNG. My question for you wildwinders: Is the result amount at the top, after the short description, always accurate? If it is, then this coin sold for $3,562.00. I think there may have been a typo, or a few wealthy people simply didn't care. I wasn't able to find the auction results on CNG's website. See links: Text http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/marcus_aurelius/RIC_0170.1.txt Image http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/marcus_aurelius/RIC_0170.1.jpg - Michael P.s. - I didn't pay 3.5K
It's a lovely coin, but it's hard to imagine the price is correct. It certainly doesn't look like a 2001 price for denarius that isn't some sort of special rarity. You could try writing to CNG to ask.
Digging up this ancient (pun intended) thread to post a new acquisition. Billed as a Marcus Aurelius Limes Denarius, it appears to be a very close facsimile to @zumbly 's coin that was posted in 2014. The major exceptions are color - mine being a chocolate color (Bronze?) and weight - only 2.5g, which, I believe, confirms that this is a Limes coin rather than a regular imperial mint issue. Does RIC include Limes coins? Sorry about the pics, I've asked for a copy stand for my birthday , fingers crossed.
It does look like a cast 'limes' issue, but I don't think there's consensus about the circumstances under which these AE denarii were produced or how they circulated. From Zach Beasley's page: "These enigmatic little pieces belong to a group of coins referred to as limes denarii, limes falsa or AE denarii. There are numerous theories as to their purpose. Some believe they were minted in the outskirts of the Roman Empire to circulate there. Some contend they are non-Roman imitative (barbarous) types. One theory I have is they were made for the soldiers defending the outer regions of the empire, paid to them in lieu of silver, in the event the territory was lost. This would not have not enriched an enemy victor of a lost region with silver or gold. With my theory, these AE pieces could, if a soldier returned to a main part of the empire in retirement or if an area was forfeited, could in turn be redeemed for equivalent AR denarii, just as US soldiers used scrip during foreign wars. We will probably never know their purpose, but they can be found in excellent condition and are very collectable."
The edge looks like a struck coin and not a cast, which is throwing me off. I’ll post a picture of the edge when I get home. Could they have struck coins in camp? I don’t see why not, but not sure it would be all that efficient.