Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3154867, member: 85693&quot;]I recently got a batch of four Roman bronzes for $0.99 which are better than you might expect, but no beauties for sure.&nbsp; Attributions have been engaging for me (Elagabalus tetradrachm!), but I found one that seemed odd to me, a sestertius of Marcus Aurelius with Virtus reverse (RIC&nbsp; 1069).&nbsp; Although it looks like a typical Aurelius big bronze, it appears to be quite scarce?</p><p><br /></p><p>I say this because most Antonine bronzes that come my way are common and fairly easy to attribute, and I can always find many online examples to compare with.&nbsp; But this one almost stumped me - it is not in Wildwinds or Coin Archives.&nbsp; OCRE did have one - a single example from the British Museum (that weighs 34.45 grams!&nbsp; Is that an error?).&nbsp; Another example is on a UK metal detector site, a very corroded, but identifiable one found in Kent (16 grams).&nbsp; <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/869145" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/869145" rel="nofollow">https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/869145</a></p><p><a href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1069" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1069" rel="nofollow">http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1069</a></p><p><br /></p><p>There is nothing especially interesting about this one - what Doug calls gods standing around doing nothing (at least this one is wearing armor and not a robe).&nbsp; It looks better in hand - a thick green patina inexpertly, partially removed messed it up.&nbsp; What surprised me is that it appears to be so scarce, especially for an Antonine-era bronze. </p><p><br /></p><p>I am not looking to retire on this - I doubt it is worth much, rare or not, given its ugliness - I was just curious.&nbsp; Was there a slump in bronze production around 173?&nbsp; Is there some source for relative scarcity of issues from this era?&nbsp; Does anybody out there have one of these (an earlier Aurelius as Caesar with Virtus reverse seems more common)?&nbsp; Are there other coins of this era that you found unusually scarce?&nbsp; Of course, if I&#039;ve misattributed this, a correction is always appreciated. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]808999[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Marcus Aurelius Æ Sestertius</b></p><p><b>(172-173 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Rome Mint</b></p><p>M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, laureate, cuirassed bust right / [IMP VI COS III]</p><p>SC, Virtus, standing right, holding spear resting on shield</p><p>RIC 1069.</p><p>(25.82 grams / 30 mm)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in