| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 118 | Auction date: 8 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 1301 Price realized: 55 GBP (Approx. 70 USD / 64 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Aelius (adopted son of Hadrian), as Caesar, Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head to right / TR POT COS II, Pannonia standing facing, holding vexillum upright on ground in right hand, left hand gathering up dress at left side; PANNONIA S-C in two lines across fields. RIC II.3 2656; C. 26; BMCRE 1919 (Hadrian). 26.95g, 33mm, 6h. Near Very Fine. Estimate: 75 GBP |  |
Match 1:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 117 | Auction date: 22 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 870 Price realized: 35 GBP (Approx. 44 USD / 41 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Aelius (adopted son of Hadrian), as Caesar, Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head to right / TR POT COS II, Spes walking to left, holding flower and raising skirt; S-C across fields. RIC II.3 2695; C. 56; Strack 895; Banti 33-4; BMCRE 1914-16 (Hadrian). 27.41g, 32mm, 6h. Near Very Fine; smoothed. Ex cgb.fr e-shop; Ex Heidelberger Münzhandlung Herbert Grün e.K., Auction 81, 10 May 2021, lot 2349. Estimate: 50 GBP |  |
Match 2:
| Portuscalle Numismatica > December 2023 Auction | Auction date: 10 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 257 Price realized: 85 EUR (Approx. 93 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Roman Empire Aelius Caesar AE Sestertius 24.47 g. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head right / TR POT COS II PIE-TAS S-C, Pietas standing left, left hand to breast, right hand over altar. Cohen - . RIC 1062. Scarse. F Starting price: 60 EUR |  |
Match 3:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 117 | Auction date: 22 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 871 Price realized: 120 GBP (Approx. 151 USD / 140 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Aelius (adopted son of Hadrian), as Caesar, Æ Dupondius or As. Rome, AD 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head to right / TR POT COS II, Spes advancing to left, holding flower in right hand and raising skirt with left, S-C across fields. RIC II.3 2700; BMCRE 1931 (Hadrian). 13.38g, 26mm, 6h. Very Fine. Ex cgb.fr e-shop. Estimate: 50 GBP |  |
Match 4:
| Tauler & Fau > Auction 137 | Auction date: 18 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 2872 Price realized: 460 EUR (Approx. 502 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Aelius. Sestertius. 137 d.C. Rome. (Ric-II 3.2689). (Banti-42). Anv.: L AELIVS CAESAR. Bare head right. Rev.: TR POT COS II. Fortuna-Spes standing left, holding flower in right hand and resting left on rudder resting on ground. Ae. 26,73 g. Rare. VF/Choice VF. Est...250,00. Spanish Description: Aelio. Sestercio. 137 d.C. Roma. (Ric-II 3.2689). (Banti-42). Anv.: L AELIVS CAESAR. Cabeza desnuda a la derecha. Rev.: TR POT COS II. Fortuna-Spes en pie a izquierda, portando flor en la mano derecha y descansando la izquierda sobre timón apoyado en el suelo. Ae. 26,73 g. Rara. MBC/MBC+. Est...250,00. |  |
Match 5:
| Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles > Auction 137 | Auction date: 29 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1279 Price realized: 950 USD (Approx. 880 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Aelius. Silver Denarius (3.17 g), Caesar, AD 136-138. Rome, 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head of Aelius left. Reverse: TRIB POT COS II PIE-TAS, Pietas standing right, holding acerrum and dropping incense onto lighted and garlanded altar to right. RIC 2631; BMC 992; RSC 36a. NGC grade Ch XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 2/5. Light smoothing. An outstanding example and in our opinion, undergraded. Estimated Value $1,000 - UP On 13 January AD 101, Lucius Ceionius Commodus was born to a Roman consular family from Etruria. Although he is known to have served as praetor in AD 130 and was married to the influential Avidia Plautia, his importance increased dramatically in AD 136, when the emperor Hadrian unexpectedly adopted him and thereby made him Caesar and heir to the purple. At the time of his adoption, Lucius Ceionius Commodus set aside his name and assumed the new name of Lucius Aelius Caesar that linked him to the gens Aelia to which Hadrian belonged.Up until this point it was widely believed that Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator II, the grandson of the emperor's well-regarded brother-in-law, Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus, would be Hadrian's heir. Indeed, Hadrian had virtually indicated this himself by giving Salinator a privileged position in his court. However, all of the hopes and expectations for Salinator were dashed in AD 136 when Hadrian fell seriously ill and almost died from a haemorrhage. This near death experience caused the emperor to change his mind and adopt Aelius as his heir instead. This new decision, which the Historia Augustae describes as "against the wishes of everyone" sent political shockwaves through Rome and enraged both Servianus and Salinator. They were subsequently implicated in a (fabricated?) coup attempt and executed. Thus, Aelius was raised to power on a tide of unpopularity and bloodshed. It was not an auspicious beginning.As Caesar, Aelius' first order of business in AD 137 was to join the legions in Pannonia and defend the Danube frontier against Germanic incursions although he had no military experience of any kind. His Danubian campaigns seem to have met with success and he returned to Rome to make a public address at the start of the New Year, AD 138. Although his speech was said to have been well composed and a model for future rhetoricians, Aelius never presented it. He fell ill shortly before and died after drinking a potion intended to help him. It has been suggested that Aelius may have been killed by the onset of tuberculosis. Hadrian honored his dead heir with monumental statues and temples. The emperor then chose Antoninus Pius to be his new heir and Caesar, but ordered Pius to adopt Lucius Verus, the son of Aelius, with the intention that he would become Caesar to Antoninus Pius after he assumed power as Augustus. |  |
