Lucius Verus - the war in the East

Hello all, below are two new additions to my imperial collection. Two coins of Lucius Verus, that refer to the war with Parthia. I think this period in the history of the Roman empire is very interesting. Two reigning emperors (well, at least untill 169 AD) after the sole reign of Antoninus Pius, and Hadrian and Trajan before him. And, second, a more then troubled reign after the long, peaceful era under Antoninus Pius.

In the very first year of their reign, Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius were faced with a war with Parthia. The Parthians placed their puppet-king on the throne of Armenia and quickly after that invaded Syria. The succesful counterattack of the Romans led to the capture of the Armenian capital, and Verus was granted the title Armeniacus in 163 AD.


Verus and Aurelius pushed further and even into Parthian territory, capturing and burning their capital in 165 AD. Verus gained the title Parthicus and Rome acquired a new province, Mesopotamia.


It would not be last of the troubles for Verus and Aurelius, but I will save that story for another day, with the corresponding coinage which I dont have.

About the latter coin: there are many coins available of Verus with the 'VIC PAR' reverse. This one however appealed to me, despite the flan being a bit small and the legend falling of. First, the colouring is very appealing, with the higher areas of the devices having a lovely bronze colour. But also because of the drapery on the bust of Verus, which is quite a rare variant.

Verus was supposed to be quite the dandy and in for a party. This led me to think that Victory is actually not holding a shield with 'victory over the parthans', but handing out invitations for a 'victory party'. (Yes, I've been indoors too long now...) It would have been a horrible party though, as the legionairs took the plague with them back to Rome.

Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is still doing okay in these troubled times with covid still going on! Please show your Verus coins, or coins related to the war with Parthia!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I've got one that fits the bill. Nice new coins by the way @Limes

Lucius Verus, 161-169 A.D.

Type: AE As, 25.5 mm 12.1 grams, R1 according to ACSearch

Obverse: L VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS, Bare-Headed Bust Facing Right

Reverse: TRP IIII IMP II COS III, Emperor on Horseback Charging right holding spear, riding down foe.

Reference: TBD, not in Wildwinds - edit: RIC 1404, rare type

 

Nice coins! Yes, Lucius spent nearly all the campaign in Antioch living the high life, and left the real fighting to his (fortunately very competent) subordinates. Marcus Aurelius didn't travel even that far, staying at Rome for most of the war, but he also issued coins proclaiming VIC PAR:

Of course, let's not forget the Parthian king at the time, Vologases IV (147-191):

 

Great coins, @Limes. I especially like your Armenia denarius, that's a very nice example. I just missed out on one at the Leu auction last weekend that I had really wanted , but hopefully I'll be able to add one of those soon.

Here's my favorite Lucius Verus:
Lucius Verus, AR Denarius (17 mm, 3.08 g), Rome, 161-162. Bareheaded bust of Lucius Verus to right./Rev. Providentia standing front, holding globe in her right hand and cornucopia with her left. RIC 482 (Marcus Aurelius).

And a provincial with him and Marcus Aurelius:
Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, Seleucis and Pieria, Laodicea ad Mare. 161-169 AD, AE Diassarion (25 mm, 9.08 g), Laureate head of Marcus Aurelius to right; to right, ΙΟΥ. Rev. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Lucius Verus to right. RPC online IV.3 9010

 

LUCIUS VERUS, denarius
Rome, 165
S 5358 - C 273 - RIC 540
L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, Laureate head right
TR POT V IMP III COS II, Parthian captive seated right

 

.

 

Fun write up, great coins and perfect use of the word "dandy"!

 

Great coins, @Limes ! Historically important, too!

 

Very cool coins. I have the Aurelius Vic Par and I’ve been looking for the Verus but haven’t found one I like yet so I included another Verus that I have.

 

Nice write up @Limes and great coins. Nice to have an AR and AE for the narrative.

LUCIUS VERUS

RI LUCIUS VERUS 161-169 AE24 As Rome L VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS Bare head r Mars trophy TR P IIII IMP II COS II S-C RIC 1377

 

Sestertius of Lucius Verus with reverse of both Verus and Aurelius.

 

Outstanding coin @octavius!

 

+1

 

..very nice coins(and write up!)of Lucius Verus!...i too have Marcus denarius to compliment ..he was one of the 5(6) Good ya know....in bronze, i have him with a Mt. Argaeus reverse (Cappodocia)

 

The war in the east resulted in victories over Armenians and Parthians.


Lucius Verus denarius. 19 mm. 3.39 grams.
L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX (both Armenian and Parthian victories)
TRP VI IMP IIII COS II (dated to summer-Dec. 166)
Victory with palm branch with VIC/PAR on shield on column
RIC 566. Foss Verus 18.

 

Hi All,

Since I don't like to double post - I feel it's a waste of our precious space - here is a link to my previously posted Alexandrian Lucius Verus Armenian victory trophy tetradrachm at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/victory-coins-and-medallions.362810/page-3#post-4609124

- Broucheion

 

My humble MA and LV:

ROMAN IMPERIAL, Marcus Aurelius. Denomination: AR Denarius, minted: Rome, Italy; 163 AD
Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, laureate head right
Rev: TR P XX IMP IIII COS III, Victoria standing front, holding palm and fixing to a palm tree and shield inscribed VIC PAR
Weight: 2.77g; Ø:1.8mm. Catalogue: RIC III 163. Provenance: Ex private collection; acq.: 04-2019


ROMAN IMPERIAL, Lucius Verus. Denomination: AR Denarius, minted: Rome, Italy; 167-168 AD
Obv: L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX: Head of Lucius Verus, laureate, right
Rev: TR P VIII IMP IIII COS III: Aequitas, draped, standing front, head left, holding scales in extended right hand and cornucopiae in left hand
Weight: 3.01g; Ø:17mm. Catalogue: RIC III 578. Provenance: Found in Ukraine; acq.: 12-2019

The provenance of the last coin from Lucius Verus is interesting (if true). The seller bought a large hoard of relatively worn denari from the reign of Trajan to Commodus (that is, those where the coins offered for sale). So roughly c. 75 - 200 AD. According to the seller, they were found in Ukraine. Now I'm not really knowledgeable on the Roman Imperial period, but I've read somewhere that in the 3th century AD revolts in that region where bought of with early denari, instead of the debased antoniani which those rebels didn't accept. So, my inexpert opinion is that, apparently, this Lucius Verus denarius was in the Imperial treasure, waiting to be turned into a antonianus, but was then used to bribe some rebels in Ukraine.