| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31099 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients Aurelian (AD 270-275). AV binio or heavy aureus (24mm, 6.46 gm, 1h). NGC MS 5/5 - 2/5, brushed, edge marks. Rome and Siscia. IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust of Aurelian right, seen from front / ORI-EN-S AVG, Sol standing facing, head left, with right hand raised in gesture of adlocutio, globe in outstretched left hand; I L in exergue. Calicó 4015 var. (pellet in exergue). RIC V.I 18 var. (Rome, same) and 188 var. (Siscia, same). Extremely rare with only two other examples in sales archives. This delightful piece boasts a lustrous, sunny flan with an all-over silky finish, with the exception of a halo of extra radiance that shines from around the portrait. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 121 (6 October 2022), lot 935; Gorny & Mosch, Auction 265 (14 October 2019), lot 1500. Aurelian stands as a pivotal figure, for during the course of five action-packed years he stitched together a fragmented Roman Empire and put it firmly on the path to recovery. An Illyrian of humble origins, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus rose through the ranks of the Roman army along with a cadre of Danubian officers who formed a warrior elite. Acclaimed emperor after the death of Claudius II in AD 270, Aurelian immediately faced a rapid-fire series of invasions by several barbarian tribes, which he defeated in turn. He next turned his attention to the East, which had broken away under the rule of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. In two lightning campaigns in AD 272 and 273, he routed Zenobia's formidable army and took Palmyra by storm. Barely pausing for breath, he led his legions into Gaul, which had been ruled by a separatist government for 14 years. His army routed the Gallo-Roman forces and their ruler Tetricus made formal submission to Rome. Senate and people rightly acclaimed Aurelian as "Restorer of the World" (Restitutor Orbis). He further hoped to impose a kind of religious unity on the empire by encouraging the quasi monotheistic cult of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, and designated December 25th as the god's birthday, unwittingly creating Christmas. In AD 275, Aurelian planned to invade Persia, but a dishonest secretary feared his wrath and procured his assassination. His reign was one of colossal achievement that made possible the great Roman revival of the later third and fourth centuries. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-aurelian-ad-270-275-av-binio-or-heavy-aureus-24mm-646-gm-1h-ngc-ms-5-5-2-5-brushed-edge-marks/a/3115-31099.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 20000-25000 USD |  |
