I found this one for a pretty reasonable price, struck as Caesar (139-161) and continues my recent trend of focusing on coins of Alexandria. Though worn, I found the appearance pleasing. The Alexandrian coins of Aurelius are not as common as those of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. Plus, the acquisition means that I now have an example of each of the five "good emperors". Please post any Aurelius' coins of Egypt or other Imperial coins that you like. Type: AE Drachm, 33mm, 22.95 grams Obverse: Bare headed and draped bust of Aurelius right M AVPHLIOC KAICAP Reverse: Elpis Standing left holding flower and hitching skirt LEND EKATOV Reference: BMC 1238 listed as "rare" by R.A. Numismatics Favorite quotes of Marcus: When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Thanks for looking.
My only Aurelius is a drachm with Nike. I agree his coins are more rarely seen than those of Hadrian, Pius and Commodus.
Nice pickup, @ancient coin hunter! Zurqieh does have a large array of interesting Alexandrians. Roman Egypt coinage of Marcus Aurelius is definitely harder to find than that of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Commodus, and many others of that earlier era. Both of your coins are rated R5 by Emmett and ACsearch has no examples of those reverses, although there is one other M.A./Elpis drachm currently for sale on Vcoins. I have a couple of smaller M.A. Egyptian denominations: EGYPT, Alexandria. Marcus Aurelius as Caesar AE obol, 20.5 mm, 6.0 gm. Alexandria. Year 15 (CE 151/2) Obv: MAVPHΛICKAICAP; bust right, bare head Rev: Sphinx crouched right in the pose of the Great Sphinx of Giza; LIE (date) above in left field Ref: Emmett 1919.15, R5; Dattari 3221; RPC IV online 15684 EGYPT, Alexandria. Marcus Aurelius year 12, CE 171/2 AE diobol, 22 mm, 7.53 gm Obv: [MAV]PHΛIOC ANTω[ΝΙΝΟCCE]; laureate bust right Rev: Uraeus serpent erect left, wearing headdress; "holding" sistrum and grain ear; LI - B across upper fields Ref: Dattari 3605 and Pl. XXXII, 3605 (this coin). Dattari-Savio Pl. 193, 3605 (this coin); Geissen --; Emmett 2260.12, R5 ex Dattari collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1858-1923)
Great examples @TIF - I had a little trouble attributing the coin and finding the legends, and it does appear to be a rare reverse type. The ones with the Gryphon and Canopic jars appear to be more common. There is a paucity of Marcus Aurelius coins compared to some of the other rulers of that era - not sure if this means that fewer coins were struck in the name of Aurelius or just that fewer of them have survived the vestiges of time.
Per Emmett, who surveyed various large collections for his book, your MA as Caesary / Elpis drachm was struck only in Regnal Year 11 (of Antoninus Pius), so you can record an issuance date of CE 147/8 for your coin. Considering how many contemporarily issued coins of Antoninus Pius remain, I'd guess that fewer of Aurelius were struck. Here are the stats for denominations and types issued by Aurelius, where "type" means a general type of reverse rather than minor variations of legend, bust direction and dress, etc, although Emmett does get surprisingly RICky when it comes to distinguishing various poses of eagles . I've photographed the table from Domitian through Marcus Aurelius Augustus. The Alexandrian mint's output was massive during the Trajan through Hadrian years but when you add up Marcus Aurelius as Caesar + Augustus + with Lucius Verus + nomes, the number of types isn't small. TD= tetradrachm; DR= drachm; HD= hemidrachm; DO= diobol; OB= obol; DC= dichalkon.
Nice buy! Here's the entry for your type in RPC Online, which lists 10 specimens in public collections: http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/13618/ My only coin of MA from Alexandria: MARCUS AURELIUS, as Caesar Billon Tetradrachm. 12.86g, 24.5mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 13 of Antoninus Pius (AD 149/150). Dattari (Savio) 3185 (this coin); Emmett 1868.13 (R4); Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 169 (this coin); RPC Online temp #14367 (4 examples). O: M AVPHΛIC • KAICAP, bareheaded and draped bust right. R: Zeus (‘Jupiter Capitolinus’) enthroned left, holding phiale in his extended right hand and scepter with his left; at his feet, eagle standing left, head right, wings closed; L IΓ (date) across upper field. Catalog notes: "Very rare, nice metal, and of fine style, probably the finest known for the type." Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection; Ex Dr. Piero Beretta Collection; Ex Giovanni Dattari Collection
Thank You @zumbly - looks like an excellent resource. Most of the searches I did revealed nothing but finally found one that had passed from hand to hand in a prior auction several years ago.
