Code: 2803
Description: Roman Imperial coinage: The Antonines A.D. 138-193 - A silver denarius of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.), laureate bust of the emperor as Augustus facing right with the legend M ANTONINVS AVG -------- (worn), the reverse showing Pax standing facing left holding olive branch and cornucopiae, with the legend PAX AVG TR P XX COS III, wear to the highlights and legend on obverse partly illegible, but overall a nice coin, Sear 4915.
Size: 19 x 19 mm/0.7 x 0.7 in., weight 2.9 g
Culture: Roman Empire
Provenance: Ex Gloucestershire private collection.
Notes: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ruled as Roman emperor from 161 to 180 A.D. and was the last emperor of the Pax Romana, a time of relative peace and stability within the empire that lasted from 27 B.C. to 180 A.D. He was also known as a leading stoic philosopher, a philosophy that emphasised fate, reason and self-restraint. The last of the ‘five good emperors’ who presided over the most noble days of the Roman Empire, the empire quickly decended into civil war after his death.
Reference: Sear, D.R. 2002, Roman Coins and their Values, Spink, London, Volume 2, p.306.
