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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Blake Davis, post: 5221669, member: 91820&quot;][ATTACH=full]1216202[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1216203[/ATTACH] </p><p>Marcus Aurelius Sestertius RIC 1034 - sort of</p><p>Weight: 28.78 grams, Size 32 mm</p><p>Obverse Inscription: M ANTONINUS AVG TRP XXVI</p><p>Reverse Inscription: IMP VI COS III &quot;VIC GER&quot; on Shield</p><p>Roma seated left on shield inscribed &quot;VIC GER&quot; and holding Victory </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; As I had mentioned in one of my recent articles on this site, &quot;unlisted&quot; means that the coin type, in all its particulars, is not included in relevant catalog of the volume of Roman Imperial Coins. And, as noted, there are varying degrees of &quot;unlistedness&quot; from a type that is completely absent in the catalog, all the way to minor differences from that described, even those that the authors of RIC may not have bothered to include.&nbsp; As an example of minor unlisted - a sestertius of Marcus Aurelius, from his final year, with Virtus seated on the reverse, RIC 1249, foot on ground.&nbsp; My example shows Virtus&#039;s foot on a helmet. (I will have to post the coin at a later date).&nbsp; Unlisted?&nbsp; yes, since it is not mentioned in RIC as such.&nbsp; But, it seems to be a minor oversight.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The coin above was struck between Dec. 171 to Dec 172.&nbsp; This type (lacking the inscription on the shield) is among the most common of Marcus Aurelius sestertii.&nbsp; Although I do not have the time to go into the history in detail - plus the historical sources are severely lacking for this period - the coin was struck during a dark time for Rome - a plague brought back from Lucius Verus&#039; earlier expedition against Parthia had killed thousands upon thousands,&nbsp; the Germanic tribes had taken advantage of the situation by invading Gaul and northern Italy.&nbsp; The situation was dire, although by the time the coin was struck Marcus was in the process of beating back the Germans and the coins reflected the situation - although I am not certain but I believe the celebrated &quot;rain miracle&quot; took place about a year after this coin was struck.&nbsp; It was a dire time indeed.&nbsp; Many types in all metals deal with the military situation, this being one of them.&nbsp; In short, the year 171-172 is a perfect example of how coins can match current events.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The inscription &quot;VIC GER&quot; on the shield is not a listed type for this coin. However, that might be due to the ease with which the inscription is rubbed off - in fact, to my dismay, the inscription is far less clear than it was when I originally purchased the coin, which means it cannot be stored in a holder, and certainly cannot be handled.&nbsp; Although I have had this coin for close to 20 years up until a month ago and despite diligent searches I was not able to find another example.&nbsp; I did see one other, perhaps on French ebay? although I did not note where - perhaps someone else came across it?&nbsp;&nbsp; Also if you have this type with a blank shield it might be worth taking closer look to see if there are any traces of VIC GER.&nbsp; Sort of reminds me of the date on the 1917 US Liberty quarter!</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Is the inscription significant?&nbsp; Perhaps not - &quot;VIC GER&quot; is noted on RIC 1029 where standing Victory is place a shield on a palm tree with the same inscription. But, it is quite interesting and I thought worth posting.</p><p><br /></p><p>P.S. What is the difference between a thread and a conversation?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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