| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 187 | Silver | Auction date: 10 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 270 Price realized: 260 EUR (Approx. 280 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Lucius Verus AD 161-169. Rome Sestertius Æ 36 mm, 24,21 g IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust to right / PROV DEOR TR P COS II, Providentia standing facing, head to left, holding globe and cornucopiae; S-C across fields. Very Fine,smoothed RIC III 1304. Starting price: 150 EUR |  |
Match 1:
| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 203 | Silver | Auction date: 24 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 505 Price realized: 130 EUR (Approx. 141 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Lucius Verus AD 161-169. Rome Sestertius Æ 33 mm, 25,80 g IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG Bare head of Lucius Verus to right / CONCORD AVGVSTOR TR P II / COS II / S - C, Marcus Aurelius, togate, on the left, and Lucius Verus, togate, on the right, standing facing each other and clasping their right hands, each holding a scroll in his left hand. Very Fine BMC -; Cohen 36; MIR 30-16/10; RIC 1308. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 2:
| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 198 | Silver | Auction date: 25 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 250 Price realized: 220 EUR (Approx. 238 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Severus Alexander AD 222-235. Rome Sestertius Æ 31 mm, 19,92 g IMP CAES M AVR SEV ALEXANDER AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PONTIF MAX TR P II COS P P, Pax seated to left, holding branch and sceptre; SC in exergue. Very Fine RIC IV 402; BMCRE 106. Severus Alexander, whose full name was Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus, was a Roman emperor who ruled from AD 222 to 235. He was born in AD 208 in Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon). Severus Alexander became emperor at the age of 13, following the assassination of Emperor Elagabalus, his cousin. During his reign, he was heavily influenced by his mother, Julia Mamaea, who acted as his regent and advisor. Severus Alexander was known for his moderation and attempts to promote a more harmonious and stable government. He tried to restore the authority of the Senate, reduced taxes, and showed clemency to his enemies. However, despite his good intentions, his reign faced various challenges. The Roman military was unhappy with his policies, and external threats from the Sassanian Empire in Persia and Germanic tribes put further strain on the empire. In AD 235, a rebellion broke out among the Roman troops led by Maximinus Thrax, a general who had gained popularity in the legions. Severus Alexander was unable to quell the rebellion, and he and his mother were assassinated by their own soldiers. With his death, the Severan dynasty came to an end. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 3:
| Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 187 | Silver | Auction date: 10 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 375 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: Constantine II, as Caesar AD 317-337. Treveri Follis Æ 20 mm, 3,06 g FL CL CONSTANTINVS IVN N C, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust to right / PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS, prince advancing to right, holding transverse spear and globe; T-F across fields, BTR in exergue. Very Fine RIC VII 144. Starting price: 50 EUR |  |
Match 4:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 144 with CNG & NGSA | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 1131 Price realized: 55,000 CHF (Approx. 60,794 USD / 56,471 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Geoffrey Cope Collection of Ancient Greek and Roman Bronzes. The Roman Empire. Macrinus, 217 – 218. Description Sestertius, Roma 217, Æ 31 mm, 24.24 g. IMP CAES M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., with older features. Rev. P M TR P II COS P P P Macrinus seated l. on curule chair, holding globe and short sceptre. Reference C 52 BMC 124 RIC 148 Condition Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, undoubtedly one of the finest sestertii of Macrinus in private hands. A portrait of excellent style, the work of a talented engraver, and a lovely reverse die. Superb dark brown tone, minor traces of double striking on reverse, otherwise good extremely fine Provenance M&M sale XXVIII, 1964, 419 Leu sale 33, 1983, 107 CNG–NAC sale 40, 1996, 1596 From the James Fox collection. Note: Macrinus, who was of Berber origin, was Rome's first emperor of equestrian background and was Rome's only emperor to hail from Mauretania. He was a prominent jurist and bureaucrat, such that when Caracalla ascended the throne upon the death of Septimius Severus he made Macrinus his praetorian prefect. As commander of the imperial bodyguard, Macrinus was with the emperor in the East during Caracalla's preparations for his planned invasion of Parthia, and it was at Macrinus' instigation that Caracalla was assassinated by one of his own soldiers, Justin Martialis After Caracalla's murder, Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor, assuming the titles and powers that came with the position of supreme leadership without awaiting confirmation from the Senate in Rome. This along with his less than noble origins (all previous emperors had hailed from the senatorial class) did not especially endear him to the Roman Senate. Furthermore, unlike his predecessor, Macrinus was more circumspect with the imperial finances. Where Caracalla had increased the soldiers' yearly pay from 2000 to 3000 sestertii, Macrinus decreed that any newly recruited soldiers would receive the salary that had existed before the increase. This is understandable given the dire situation of the State's finances, and was an absolute necessity given that Caracalla's expensive military campaigns had all but depleted the state's coffers. The veteran soldiers, however, saw this as the precursor to their own eventual reduction in pay and privileges, and when the opportunity presented they revolted. That opportunity came because Macrinus had made the mistake of freeing the extended family of Caracalla, allowing them to return to their hometown of Emesa. Still based at Antioch – Macrinus never had the opportunity to visit Rome after becoming emperor – his safety became jeopardised when the scheming aunt of Caracalla, Julia Maesa, used her vast wealth to secure the allegiance of the soldiers or the legio III Gallica, who were stationed at nearby Raphanea. They proclaimed Maesa's 14 year-old grandson, Elagabal, emperor, and the boy's tutor led the troops to engage Macrinus who fled the field of battle and was soon captured and executed. Estimate: 25000 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 144 with CNG & NGSA | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 1140 Price realized: 38,000 CHF (Approx. 42,003 USD / 39,016 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Geoffrey Cope Collection of Ancient Greek and Roman Bronzes. The Roman Empire. Gordian I, March-April 238. Description Sestertius, Roma 238, Æ 35 mm, 21.60 g. IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. P M TR P COS P P S – C Emperor, laureate and togate, standing l., holding branch and parazonium. Reference C 3 BMC 4 RIC 7 Condition Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, among the finest specimens known. Struck on an exceptionally large flan with an untouched light green patina. Good extremely fine Provenance NAC sale 27, 2004, 464 Few years in Roman history were as eventful as 238, when no less than six emperors ruled. Early in the year, when the emperor Maximinus I "Thrax" was on the Danube waging war against Sarmatians and Dacians, a revolt was brewing on the distant African continent. It was led by landowners who had met their breaking point with harsh taxation they believed to be an attempt by Maximinus to punish the wealthy. The revolt sparked on March 19 or a few days afterward, and it came to be led by the proconsul of Africa, Gordian, and his eponymous son, known to history as Gordian I and II. They were among the wealthiest people in the empire, owners of unimaginably large tracts of fertile farmland in the Romanized territories of North Africa. The fact that the coinage of the Gordiani was produced in the metropolitan capitals of Rome and Alexandria, and that the Roman issues are of such excellent quality, provokes the question: did the senate merely support the Gordiani after they were made aware of the revolt, or was the uprising planned with the senatorial elite? The historical record supports the former, but the numismatic evidence might suggest the contrary. If so, it would not be the first time that coins and inscriptions contradict the poor literary sources of this period. In either case the senate backed the revolt, and its members seem to have arranged the murder of Vitalianus, the commander of the guard and a supporter of Maximinus. Clearly the nobility feared that unless the empire's elite united against the peasant soldier-emperor they would face a slow and painful annihilation. After a reign of 20 or 22 days (the ancient sources differ), the younger Gordian was killed in battle outside Carthage and the father seems to have hanged himself rather than face capture by his victorious rival Capellianus, the governor of Numidia. As is typical for the sources in this period, the accounts differ as to whether the elder Gordian committed suicide before or after his son went into battle. issues are of such excellent quality, provokes the question: did the senate merely support the Gordiani after they were made aware of the revolt, or was the uprising planned with the senatorial elite? The historical record supports the former, but the numismatic evidence might suggest the contrary. If so, it would not be the first time that coins and inscriptions contradict the poor literary sources of this period. In either case the senate backed the revolt, and its members seem to have arranged the murder of Vitalianus, the commander of the guard and a supporter of Maximinus. Clearly the nobility feared that unless the empire's elite united against the peasant soldier-emperor they would face a slow and painful annihilation. After a reign of 20 or 22 days (the ancient sources differ), the younger Gordian was killed in battle outside Carthage and the father seems to have hanged himself rather than face capture by his victorious rival Capellianus, the governor of Numidia. As is typical for the sources in this period, the accounts differ as to whether the elder Gordian committed suicide before or after his son went into battle. Estimate: 20000 CHF |  |
