My first ancient coin in this year.

Thinking you're dead on. The beard was saying 'Lucius Verus' to me. I don't do this stuff, and held fire on the subject.

 

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Replying to my own post - how gauche!

But this seems to be Marcus Aurelius. The obverse legend - not very clear in my photo, but clear enough in hand, spells out: M ANTONINVS AVG...

According to OCRE, there are no obverse busts of Verus with that legend.





Still a bit of a guess on this one:

Marcus Aurelius Æ Sestertius
(175 A.D.)
Rome Mint
M ANTONINVS AVG [GERM SARMATIC]VS, laureate head r./ TR P X[XIX I]M[P VIII COS III] S C: Annona standing left, holding corn-ears & cornucopiae modius with corn-ears & poppy l.
RIC 1154 (only Annona rev. with non-draped bust in OCRE).
(19.84 grams / 28 mm)

Corrections and/or alternative interpretations always welcome!

 

Here's one I just bought on French ebay (unattributed).


Henry VIII, First coinage, 1509-1526. Halfgroat of York, Cardinal Wolsey, 1514-1530. Star mintmark (...with final verdict: 1514-1526). Keys and cardinal's hat beside and below shield. Spink 2316.
(...I had compelling personal reasons (genealogy) to want a first coinage issue of Henry, of Durham or (only better) York. And, Yikes, there it was!)