Received this yesterday. Bought it for two reasons, I didn´t have a Marcus Aurelius in my collection, and it has a reverse I had never seen before. Please post your versions or anything relevant. Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar. AE As. 151-152 AD. Struck under Antoninus Pius. Obv: AVRELIVS CAESAR ANTONINI AVG PII FIL, bare head right. Rev: TR POT VI COS II. VIR-TVS and S-C across fields. Virtus standing left, foot on helmet, holding spear and parazonium (A parazonium is a long triangular dagger, wide at the hilt end and coming to a point. In Roman mythology, it is frequently carried by Virtus, particularly in early representations. It is also sometimes carried by Mars, Roma, or the emperor, giving them the aura of courage). RIC 1307; Cohen 1013.13,0 g - 26,5 mm
That's a great looking coin! Lovely patina. That parazonium must've gotten heavy, because by the 240s Philip's Virtus had to take a seat! I think the Virtus standing on helmet holding spear & parazonium iconography must've inspired the Severan Provincial coinage showing Caracalla and Elagabalus in similar pose (maybe Septimius had them too). Here, Elagabalus (from Nicopolis) has his foot on a captive & holds a globe instead of helmet & parazonium: Here's an interesting variation on that iconography -- it's Roma, not Virtus, and she's holding a cornucopia instead of the parazonium:
