A nice "Limes" denarius of Marcus Aurelius

[robinjojo]

This coin was unsold during Roma's E-Sale 100, I guess due to the somewhat rough surfaces and its base metal composition.  But, if examined on its own merits, as a "Limes" denarius, it is above average, in my opinion, especially with the sensitive, fairly high relief portrait of Aurelius as a younger man.  I've seen other limes denarii of his and generally they don't seem as struck, with cruder dies.  Also the portraits seem to be of much older Marcus Aurelius. 

What do you think?  I was really taken by this coin from the unsold coins list.  This coin has additional meaning for me since I just finished reading his work, Meditations.

This coin is patterned after Cohen 102.

Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar, Æ Limes Denarius. Uncertain mint after Rome, AD 145-160. AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F, bare head to right / COS II, Spes advancing to left, holding up flower and raising skirt. cf. RIC III 431 (Pius); BMCRE 604 (Pius); RSC 103. 3.40g, 18mm, 7h.

 

[Curtis JJ]

Not bad for a Limes! One of my favorite things about them is their variety of colors/patinas. This isn't the best photo (clipped from a video I made) but here are a few mine that were around. In hand, they appear more colorful than this (some almost look blue):

 

same coins plus doppelgangers:

 

 

And just because I love Captives, here's my old Septimius Captives denarius (sadly I seem to have sold it):

Edited August 29, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[robinjojo]

Nice!  I especially like the side-by-side comparisons.  

Yes, capturing the true color of a coin, especially a dark one, is a challenge.  I ended up using flash for my photo.

Your Septimius Limes denarius appears to be silver washed or plated.  

[Kali]

Handsome limes, @robinjojo. I like that one a lot.