Marcus Aurelius Sestertius RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

In early AD 169, the joint principate established in AD 161 came to an unexpected end when Lucius Verus fell ill and died near Altinum while returning to Rome with Marcus Aurelius. This partnership had marked the first formal collegiate emperorship of two equal Augusti in Roman history. Upon the arrival of Verus's body in Rome and his entombment in the Mausoleum of Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius sponsored his formal deification. The Senate promptly voted consecration honors, creating the posthumous identity Divus Verus. The striking of sestertii under the catalogue number RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 was an integral element of the broader funerary program. In the Antonine monetary hierarchy, the sestertius functioned as the primary large copper-alloy denomination for commercial transactions, civic accounting, and official disbursements throughout Italy and the western provinces. By issuing heavy senatorial bronze coins alongside gold aurei and silver denarii, the imperial administration effectively publicized Verus's apotheosis, affirmed the enduring legitimacy of the Antonine line, and displayed Marcus Aurelius's familial pietas to all levels of provincial and metropolitan society.

Production and Mint Organization

RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 was struck exclusively at the imperial mint in Rome, which exercised a monopoly over base-metal senatorial coinage during the Antonine era. Sestertii of this period were produced using orichalcum (a copper-zinc brass alloy) or related bronze compositions. Blanks were cast in individual or group molds, prepared to size, and struck between hand-cut dies while hot to facilitate high-relief detail. Surviving specimens demonstrate the expected metrological fluctuations characteristic of second-century Roman bronze casting, typically weighing between twenty and twenty-eight grams, with an average weight clustered near twenty-four to twenty-five grams. Module diameters generally range between thirty and thirty-four millimeters. The dies for this commemorative series were executed by seasoned engravers who managed to reproduce Verus's distinctive physiognomy posthumously while adhering to the rigorous stylistic standards of the imperial capital's principal workshop.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 exhibits the bare head of Lucius Verus facing to the right. Consecration issues for deceased male rulers routinely omitted the laurel wreath and radiate crown worn by living emperors, presenting the deified figure in an idealized, non-civic aspect. Engravers captured Verus's well-attested visual features, including his thick, curly coiffure and full, textured beard, rendering him in a style that closely mirrors his posthumous and late-career sculptural portraits. The portrait is truncated cleanly at the neck without drapery or cuirass, focusing visual attention on the serene features of the new divinity. Across the surviving die series, slight variations can be detected in the fullness of the hair locks, the curvature of the neck truncation, and the spatial distribution of the letters relative to the head, but the fundamental composition remains strictly standardized.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse design features an eagle standing right upon a globe, its head turned back toward the left. In Roman funerary iconography, the eagle, as the sacred creature and messenger of Jupiter, was the traditional vehicle of the emperor's soul during apotheosis, carrying the departed princeps heavenward from the pyre. The raptor's position atop the globe introduces a universal cosmic dimension, symbolizing the deceased ruler's elevation into the celestial sphere and the global expanse of Roman imperial authority. On well-preserved and finely engraved dies, the surface of the globe is detailed with crossed celestial bands or incised stars. Flanking the globe in the lower fields are the letters S and C, abbreviating Senatus Consulto. This formula attested that the coin was authorized by a senatorial decree, an essential constitutional element of Roman imperial base-metal coinage.

Inscriptional Form and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 are notable for their conciseness, standing in sharp contrast to the lengthy official titulature of reigning Augusti. The obverse bears the simple legend DIVVS VERVS, reading clockwise from the lower left margin. By stripping away all references to the consulship, tribunician power, imperatorial acclamations, and victory titles, the legend emphasizes purely the sacred status of the deceased co-emperor. The reverse displays the single word CONSECRATIO along the upper perimeter, identifying the religious act and official ceremony of deification. Below the eagle, flanking the globe, the abbreviation S C reinforces senatorial sanction. The lettering is rendered in formal monumental Roman capitals, characterized by upright letterforms, balanced proportions, and well-defined serifs.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Production of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 is securely assigned to AD 169, immediately following the deification proceedings conducted upon Verus's death. In Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham's Roman Imperial Coinage classification, this sestertius is catalogued under the posthumous section of Marcus Aurelius's sole reign. It belongs to an emission of Consecratio types struck across denominations that depicted varying funerary motifs, such as a stepped four-tiered ustrinum (pyre) or an eagle standing on an altar. RIC III 1509 is distinguished within this typological group by the bare head facing right on the obverse and the eagle looking left while perched on the globe on the reverse. In Wolfgang Szaivert's Moneta Imperii Romani study, these commemorative issues are placed in the initial phase of Marcus Aurelius's sole rule, struck in a concentrated pulse before military pressures on the northern frontier fully redirected Rome's administrative output.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Life

Once released from the Rome mint, sestertii of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509 entered circulation networks spanning Italy and the western provinces, including Gaul, Germany, and Britain, where heavy bronze coinage was routinely used for commercial trade and military payments. Evidence from coin hoards and stratified archaeological deposits shows that Antonine sestertii remained in active circulation for several decades, often staying in use until the monetary disruptions of the mid-third century. Because of this prolonged monetary life, surviving specimens frequently show considerable wear, which smooths the high curls of Verus's hair and softens the feathers of the reverse eagle. In hoard contexts, specimens of RIC III 1509 typically appear alongside earlier bronze coins of Antoninus Pius, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius, demonstrating their thorough integration into the pool of imperial base-metal currency.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 600-602, nos. 1359-1361
2. Die Münzprägung des Kaisers Marcus Aurelius in Wien (MIR 18). series 18
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1509. ric.3.m_aur.1509
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 317, no. 1509