| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 118 | Auction date: 8 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 1009 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: Marcus Aurelius Æ 35mm of Apollonia ad Rhyndacum, Mysia. Circa AD 169-175. [ΑV ΚΑΙ Μ] ΑVΡΗ [ΑΝΤΩΝЄΙΝOϹ], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / [ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΑΤΩΝ] •Π• ΡVΝΔ, tetrastyle temple enclosing statue of Apollo, nude, standing to right, holding arrow and resting left arm on column. RPC IV.2 Online 437 (temporary); SNG BnF 98. 30.53g, 35mm, 8h. Good Fine. Extremely Rare; only two examples cited by RPC Online, no others on CoinArchives. Estimate: 40 GBP |  |
Match 1:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 115 | Auction date: 21 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 675 Price realized: 150 GBP (Approx. 190 USD / 173 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Elagabalus Æ 25mm of Tripolis, Phoenicia. Dated SE 531 = AD 219/20. ΑVΤ Κ Μ ΑVP ΑΝΤѠΝΙΝΟC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / TPIΠOΛITѠN, Astarte standing, facing, wearing turreted crown, resting on long sceptre and being crowned by Nike standing on small column at her left; all within temple consisting of central archway with approaching steps and two pedimented wings with four columns each; AΛΦ (date) to left. RPC VI Online 8257 (temporary); Rouvier 1763; SNG BnF 913. 12.96g, 25mm, 2h. Very Fine. From the Roman Provincial Images Collection. Estimate: 75 GBP |  |
Match 2:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 115 | Auction date: 21 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 639 Price realized: 50 GBP (Approx. 63 USD / 58 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Hadrian Æ Diobol of Alexandria, Egypt. Dated RY 14 = AD 129/30. [ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ ϹЄΒ], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / Nude Harpocrates Mendes standing facing, head to left, raising finger to lips and holding cornucopiae, with ram standing to left, head to right, behind legs; LI-Δ (date) across fields. Dattari (Savio) 1723 & 7670; RPC III 5752; Emmett 1134. 8.47g, 25mm, 12h. Near Very Fine; harshly cleaned. Very Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 103, 24 November 2022, lot 756. Estimate: 40 GBP |  |
Match 3:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 115 | Auction date: 21 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 640 Price realized: 18 GBP (Approx. 23 USD / 21 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Hadrian Æ Drachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Dated RY 17(?) = AD 132/3. ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΤΡΑΙΑΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹЄΒ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / Serapis standing to right, holding sceptre and raising hand, facing Hadrian standing to left, resting hand on stele inscribed AΔPIANON in three lines; all within distyle temple, pediment decorated with disk; [L I]Z (date) across fields. RPC III 5844; Dattari (Savio) 7867; Emmett 1042. 21.05g, 32mm, 12h. Very Fine; smoothed, cleaning marks, somewhat corroded. Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 102, 3 November 2022, lot 711. Estimate: 30 GBP |  |
Match 4:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXX | Auction date: 21 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 461 Price realized: 14,000 GBP (Approx. 17,735 USD / 16,329 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Lucius Verus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 165. L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / TR P V IMP III COS II, emperor on horseback to right, spearing fallen enemy below. RIC III 544 (Aurelius); C. 275; BMCRE 391; Biaggi 964; Calicó 2184. 7.29g, 19mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine; an attractive portrait in high relief, with beautiful reddish tone around the devices. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica - Jesús Vico S.A, Auction 119, 6 October 2020, lot 126 (hammer: CHF 20,000); Previously privately purchased from Lopez in 1977. Lucius Verus, co-emperor with his better-known adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his death from disease in AD 169, was the eldest son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian's first intended heir who died in AD 138. Verus was adopted by Antoninus Pius alongside Marcus Aurelius and thus eventually became one of the first co-rulers of the Roman Empire, a system for the division of responsibilities which became more commonplace towards the end of the second century. Their partnership was cemented by Lucius Verus' marriage to Marcus Aurelius' daughter in AD 164. Verus' portrait follows the Antonine mode with a long face, tightly curled hair and pointed beard, emphasising continuity between emperors and a united front with Marcus Aurelius through visual likeness even though there was no biological dynastic link. He is portrayed cuirassed, which by the time of Hadrian had become the dominant costume of imperial portraiture, emphasising the emperor's role in ensuring military security throughout the empire. Verus indeed spent much of his reign shoring up the eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire. The obverse and reverse legends denote the titles with which he was honoured: Armeniacus (ARM) in AD 163 after the capture of the Armenian capital Artaxata, and Parthicus Maximus (PARTH MAX) after the invasion of Mesopotamia in AD 165, which led to his acclamation as imperator by the army for the third time. The rare reverse type of this attractive aureus is particularly arresting: an image of the emperor on horseback, the horse rearing as he spears a fallen enemy below. The group is dynamic, the horse's tail and Lucius Verus' cloak emphasising decisive movement. Such images of the emperor mounted in combat had come into favour during the reign of Trajan; this type bears a striking similarity to the heroic image of the un-helmeted emperor on horseback trampling a fallen barbarian below, his cloak billowing out behind him, used extensively on Trajan's coinage as well on the Great Trajanic Frieze (c.117-120), which was later reused to decorate the Arch of Constantine. This image of the emperor as a military figure looked back beyond the Julio-Claudian preference for static imperial images which emphasised religious piety and civic authority to the Hellenistic taste for heroic representation and strong gestural poses. This reverse type of Lucius Verus emphasises personal charisma and military success, but belies the truth: the successes attributed to the emperor, for which he received so many titles, were all due to his experienced generals - Verus himself is not believed to have ever seen active combat. Estimate: 15000 GBP |  |
Match 5:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXX | Auction date: 21 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 452 Price realized: 6,500 GBP (Approx. 8,234 USD / 7,581 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Hadrian AV Aureus. Rome, AD 125-127. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / COS III, emperor on horseback to right, brandishing spear. RIC II.3 773; C. 414 var. (bust type); BMCRE 438; Biaggi 595 var. (same); Calicó 1226. 7.26g, 20mm, 6h. NGC graded Ch XF 5/5 - 5/5 (#6944528-005). An attractive specimen. Extremely Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction XXIII, 24 March 2022, lot 966. This very attractive equestrian aureus was struck to mark the triumphant return to Rome of the Emperor, and shows him riding into the city accepting the honours and praise of the people. Mattingly and Sydenham argue that during his four year absence from Rome there had been little change in the coinage, no development of style, and the mint had been virtually inactive. However, upon his return there was a great new output of coinage, of which this is a stunning example. For his new coinage, Hadrian drops the long legends favoured by his predecessor Trajan, preferring to simplify them to HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS on the obverse and COS III on the reverse. This new obverse legend very distinctly calls into mind the coinage of the first Emperor Augustus, while the new, larger and more gracious style of imperial portrait that fills the fields of the flan is a complete change from the small, careful and cramped types of Trajan. Reverse types such as this one complement the new style and the result is a very attractive and artistic coin. Hadrian's reign was dominated by his extensive travels across the provinces, and indeed he spent more than half of his reign outside of Italy. A known Hellenophile, shortly before the return to Rome that prompted the issue of coinage to which this aureus belongs the Emperor had toured Greece and this, coupled with his studies in Greek academia, art and sculpture led the change to the very Hellenistic design we see here, a piece which can be seen as the product of the highest flourishing of Roman art and sculpture. Although no sculpture or written record of such survives, it is quite probable that this reverse type was modelled on an equestrian statue of Hadrian that stood in Rome and that is lost to us today. We know that numerous equestrian statues of Emperors once graced Rome, and we know that equestrian statues of Hadrian in particular existed - sources corroborate one at Aelia Capitolina on the Temple Mount directly above the Holy of Holies, and another is known to have adorned the Milion built by Constantine I at Constantinople, which along with an equestrian statue of Trajan, must have been removed from its original location and placed there. Indeed, if it were the case that this coin depicts a now lost sculpture, this missing statue would easily fit into a series of imperial equestrian statues that are both well-attested and displayed on the Roman coinage, beginning with the sculpture of Augustus that can be seen on denarii of 16 BC struck under the moneyer L. Vinicius (RIC 362), through Domitian's addition to the Forum Romanum in AD 91 and Trajan's own statue in the Forum Traiani. All of these followed a traditional mode, of which the gilt bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was also featured on that Emperor's coinage and which is preserved in the Capitoline Museum, is the sole surviving example. Estimate: 7500 GBP |  |
