Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 4302622, member: 75937&quot;]The Roman Empire was at war during most of Marcus Aurelius&#039; reign. From AD 161-166, the Roman army was occupied repelling the forces of the Parthians in the east, who had broken their earlier peace treaty and invaded Roman territory. Following the peace treaty of AD 166, Roman soldiers brought a plague with them when returning to Europe. This resulted in a decade-long epidemic that substantially depopulated some regions of the Empire and affected even the city of Rome, which had not suffered an outbreak in centuries. The weakened Roman provinces became vulnerable to invasion by a host of German and Sarmatian tribes. Most alarming were the invasions of the Marcomanni and Quadi, who crossed the Alps and ravaged Italy itself.</p><p><br /></p><p>In AD 172-173, at the conclusion of the Quadic war, Marcus set about rebuilding of what had been destroyed in the fighting. He received the title of <i>Restitutor Italiae -- </i>the Restorer of Italy -- in AD 173, a title which had earlier been held by Hadrian. This coin commemorates the rebuilding of Italy in the wake of the war and the new title assumed by the emperor. On this well-circulated coin&#039;s reverse, the emperor assists Italia in rising up from the ground and she offers a globe, a symbol of territorial expansion.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/marcus-aurelius-restitvtor-italiae-sestertius-jpg.1056053/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180.</p><p>Roman orichalcum sestertius, 21.36 g, 29.5 mm, 12 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 173.</p><p>Obv: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVII, head of Marcus Aurelius, laureate, right.</p><p>Rev: RESTITVTORI ITALIAE IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius, in military dress, standing left, holding vertical spear in left hand and clasping right hands with Italia kneeling right before him, holding globe in left hand; SC in exergue.</p><p>Refs: RIC 1077; BMCRE 1449-1450; Cohen 538; RCV 4997; MIR 259.[/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