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New coin - an extremely rare Marcus Aurelius denarius

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CPK:
Good evening everyone!
I was recently able to acquire this coin for my ongoing Roman Imperial denarii collection:
(apologies to those from other forums who've seen this already!)


MARCUS AURELIUS, AD 161-180
AR Denarius (18.15mm, 3.60g, 6h)
Struck AD 174. Rome mint
Obverse: M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVIII, laureate and cuirassed bust of Marcus Aurelius right
Reverse: IMP VII COS III, Victory seated left, holding patera and palm
References: RIC III 303 var. (bust type), MIR 281-4/35
Toned with an outstanding portrait. An extremely rare variant featuring a cuirassed bust.​
This coin interested me for a few reasons: first, the overall style of the portrait and condition of the coin is of the highest quality; second, it is an extremely rare type, and unlisted in any reference catalog of which I am aware.

The difference is in the bust type. RIC III no. 303 is the closest, but is listed for laureate only, whereas mine is laureate and cuirassed. Incidentally, I like the cuirassed bust style on these earlier denarii.

There is one other specimen that matches mine, and that one was sold in 2008 as 'unique'. I haven't been able to find any other matches, which I suppose makes mine possibly the second known specimen. Interestingly I don't think the two coins share a die.

Here's the coin in my gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=186283

Thanks for looking!

Jay GT4:
Beautifully photographed too!

CPK:

--- Quote from: Jay GT4 on March 12, 2024, 08:18:23 am ---Beautifully photographed too!

--- End quote ---

Thanks! I will say, this coin was one of the harder ones to photograph - the darker toned, uniform surfaces made it tough to get the light right. It took some time, but I'm happy with how it came out.

CPK:
Update. I submitted this coin to Dane at wildwinds.com, and she was able to find another specimen which sold through Gorny & Mosch about ten years ago, making a total of three known specimens of this type to date.

Enodia:
Great image, great coin!

~ Peter

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