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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 8259383, member: 110350&quot;]Here is a coin that arrived today from Nomos AG in Switzerland, so instead of putting it in a new thread I thought I would tack it on here, since this thread is still alive. Believe it or not, it&#039;s only my second denarius of Marcus Aurelius as Augustus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Marcus Aurelius AR Denarius, 165-166 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, M ANTONINVS AVG - ARMENIACVS* / Rev. Roma, helmeted and draped, seated left with round shield at side, holding Palladium [statue of Pallas Athena taken to Rome by Aeneas] in her extended right hand and short vertical scepter (or spear) in left hand, P M TR P XX - IMP III COS III.&nbsp; RIC III Marcus Aurelius 155 <i>corr.</i> (erroneously describes Roma as seated on shield and identifies Palladium as Victory); RSC II Marcus Aurelius 490 at p. 210 (Palladium and short spear); BMCRE IV Marcus Aurelius 392 at p. 438 &amp; fn. (Palladium and short spear); <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-0708-53" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-0708-53" rel="nofollow">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-0708-53</a> (same specimen as BMCRE 392, with same description); Sear RCV II 4923 (Victory and spear). 18 mm., 3.14 g., 6 h.&nbsp; <i>Purchased at Nomos Obolos Auction 22, 6 March 2022, Lot 610, described as &quot;Nearly extremely fine.&quot;</i>**</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1456459[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>*See Edward A. Sydenham,<i> Historical References on Coins of the Roman Empire </i>(1968 ed.; orig. pub. 1917) at p. 109, explaining that Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus assumed the title of Armeniacus after the defeat of the Parthians and the recovery of Armenia (placing a new vassal on the Armenian throne), a victory achieved in 163 by Statius Priscus while Marcus Aurelius remained in Rome and Lucius Verus, dispatched from Rome in command of the troops, spent the time in Antioch “in luxury and dissipation, relegating the conduct of the war to his generals.”</p><p><br /></p><p>**Nomos AG characterized this type as “rare” in its auction description. I have found only five other specimens in ACSearch, two describing the figure held by Roma as the Palladium, and three as Victory. I believe that all are depictions of the same figure – which looks to me like the Palladium, not Victory -- identified differently by different authorities and dealers, rather than two actual variants. Similarly, with respect to the issue of whether Roma holds a short scepter or spear in her left hand, I detect no actual difference between the objects identified as one or the other. (I lean towards the scepter interpretation, because I see no spear point on any of the examples, although admittedly the tip of the object is concealed by the reverse legend.) In any event, I am not sure I agree with Nomos’s statement in its auction description that there is more than one real variant of this type, i.e. that “This type can be addressed as a variant of RIC 155, with Roma holding the Palladium and a sceptre instead of Victory and a spear.” </p><p><br /></p><p>If anyone has any thoughts on Palladium vs. Victory and/or scepter vs. spear, please feel free to share them. Also, is Roma&#039;s hand usually the size of a catcher&#039;s mitt?</p><p><br /></p><p>Separately, I&#039;m curious as to whether any other U.S. members receiving coins from abroad have found a document like this one enclosed in the package. This is the first time I&#039;ve seen such a document, even though I&#039;ve purchased at Nomos Obolos auctions before. (The second lot referenced is this coin; the first one is the Septimius Severus tetradrachm from Tyre that I&#039;ve already written about.)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1456478[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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