Marcus Aurelius bust variant and probably mistake in RIC

[timka]

Hi!

I have a denarius of Marcus Aurelius which is tricky to attribute as part of obverse legend is not legible. This denarius was curious to me for a cuirassed bust, which was not noted by RIC for both possible variants RIC 210 (TR P XXIII) and RIC 225 ( TR P XXIIII).

However, under closer inspection it appeared that RIC 210 can be questioned. The point is that RIC cites the coin from BM for RIC 210.  Here is the link to the two coins  from the BM collection attributed as RIC 210.  

http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.210

To me both coins in BM read TR P XXIIII but not XXIII. That is why I would like to question RIC 210. So that  my coin is most probably the variant with cuirassed bust of RIC 225 (TR P XXIIII).

I would much appreciate your opinions on TR P XXIIII vs TR P  XXIII for the coins in BM collection!

2,7g - 18mm - 7h

M ANTONINVS AVG TR (XXIIII)  - cuirassed bust right
VICT AVG COS III - Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm
RIC 225 (bust variant)

Thanks much for your time!

Z.  

[curtislclay]

RIC 210 seems misdescribed in two regards: first date on obv. is, as you point out, TR P XXIIII not XXIII; second on rev.  Victory is holding a trophy not a palm in her left hand.

These two errors were taken over by Szaivert in MIR 18, no. 183-4/30, and in the OCRE entry you link to, despite the fact that one of them had been corrected by BMC 496, pl. 62.14, which is the same coin as the first one presented in OCRE. There Mattingly repeated the mistaken reading TR P XXIII on the obv., but corrected Victory's attribute from "palm" to "trophy".  

The question arises: was this Victory type really struck at all with TR P XXIII, and with Victory holding a palm not a trophy? BMC 531 (unillustrated) claims to be a TR P XXIIII denarius with Victory holding palm, and Cohen 979 notes that Wiczay also saw a palm on his specimen. But these two attributes are quite similar and they both overlap Victory's wing, so are easy to confuse.

I see a trophy not palm on your specimen too, and we may assume that the date was TR P XXIIII, since the Victory type may not have been struck at all with TR P XXIII. Moreover your cuirassed bust type is known on denarii with TR P XXIIII and Victory holding trophy: I noted a specimen in Dionysos, eBay, 29 May 2014 (3.18g), and two more were reported by Mouchmov in his Reka Devnia hoard publication.

[timka]

BMC 531 (unillustrated) claims to be a TR P XXIIII denarius with Victory holding palm, and Cohen 979 notes that Wiczay also saw a palm on his specimen. But these two attributes are quite similar and they both overlap Victory's wing, so are easy to confuse.

Curtis, thank you for pointing out that my denarius is with trophy, not palm. I might have confused it with RIC 226, which has Victory with palm. Btw, there are several specimens of RIC 226/palm here http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.226

I may drop a note to Richard Abdy about two misdescribed denarii of RIC 210 in BM

[curtislclay]

Looks like a trophy on the first coin shown, but yes, a couple of others do definitely show a palm.

I will note in my BMC that the variety with palm indeed exists!