Marcus Aurelius with Mars RIC 286 - Var? Mule?

[John Conduitt]

I have this unassuming denarius of Marcus Aurelius but I've never been sure of the attribution. It's RIC 286 but Marcus Aurelius appears to be curaissed. Certainly not just a head, anyway. I may well have missed it, but there doesn't seem to be a 'bust' version.

There's an almost identical coin for IMP VII instead of IMP VI, which is RIC 299. This is also 'head' of Marcus Aurelius, but there's a 'draped and cuirassed' version, which is RIC 299A.

Should there be an RIC 286A? Or is it 299A and missing an I? Perhaps it's the obverse of 299A but the reverse of 286? (That seems the wrong way around, since surely they should've moved on from IMP VI). So perhaps it's a mule with another IMP VI coin, like RIC 288 or RIC 297. Maybe it's listed in RIC but not Ocre. Or in another reference.

Usually, I would just call it RIC 286 var and be done with it. But Nomos sold a regular RIC 299 calling it 'rare' for CHF220. RIC 286 seems just as rare, let alone with a bust. RIC always makes a big deal out of 'draped and cuirassed' variations so it's strange if it is missing.

Marcus Aurelius Denarius, 173-174

Rome. Silver, 18-19mm, 3.06g. Head of Marcus Aurelius, laureate, right, draped and cuirassed?; M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVIII. Mars walking right, holding spear in his right hand and trophy over his left shoulder; IMP VI COS III (RIC III, 286 var). Found in Yorkshire.

[Roman Collector]

The most complete references to the coinage of Marcus Aurelius after the death of Antoninus Pius are Paul Dinsdale's online book and MIR (Szaivert), which both include bust varieties. Per these references, that coin comes with three bust varieties:

1. Laureate head, right
2. Laureate and draped bust, right
3. Laureate and cuirassed bust, right.

Yours is this third type, Dinsdale 028770, MIR 267-4/[35]. It is NOT listed in RIC, Cohen or does it appear in the British Museum collection. It is mentioned as a footnote to BMCRE 586, which cites an example from the Newbiggin hoard = N.C. 9 (series 5, 1929) p.314. The coin is also cataloged in RSC as 254b, citing the footnote in BMCRE.

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Roman Collector
Clarity

[John Conduitt]

14 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

The most complete references to the coinage of Marcus Aurelius after the death of Antoninus Pius are Paul Dinsdale's online book and MIR (Szaivert), which both include bust varieties. Per these references, that coin comes with three bust varieties:

1. Laureate head, right
2. Laureate and draped bust, right
3. Laureate and cuirassed bust, right.

Yours is this third type, Dinsdale 028770, MIR 267-4/[35]. It is NOT listed in RIC, Cohen or does it appear in the British Museum collection. It is mentioned as a footnote to BMCRE 586, which cites an example from the Newbiggin hoard = N.C. 9 (series 5, 1929) p.314. The coin is also cataloged in RSC as 254b, citing the footnote in BMCRE.

 

That's great, thank you very much.

Edited March 5, 2023 by John Conduitt

[curtislclay]

John,

In my BMC I wrote in a denarius like yours, bust laureate, cuirassed right, sold by Savoca on eBay on 14 Jan. 2019, weight stated to be 3.13g.

Might this be the very coin that is now in your collection, and which is actually a little lighter (3.06g), according to your scales?

[John Conduitt]

9 minutes ago, curtislclay said:

John,

In my BMC I wrote in a denarius like yours, bust laureate, cuirassed right, sold by Savoca on eBay on 14 Jan. 2019, weight stated to be 3.13g.

Might this be the very coin that is now in your collection, and which is actually a little lighter (3.06g), according to your scales?

I think this one is different as the provenance doesn't fit. It's a pity eBay's history doesn't stay online, though!

[curtislclay]

Thanks for checking!