Watch List notes:

Marcus Aurelius. A.D. 161-180. AR denarius. 3.08 gm. 18 mm. Rome mint. Struck A.D. 169. His laureate head right; M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXIII / Salus standing left, holding scepter, feeding snake rising from altar to left from patera; SALVTI AVG COS III. RIC III 207. RSC 543. Good Very Fine; marvelous idiosyncratic portrait; lightly toned; crisp and attractive.Afflicted with many frontier wars, Aurelius wrote his celebrated "Meditations" while campaigning on the Danube frontier. David Sear reported "It has been written of Aurelius that 'in the evening of Rome's greatness her ruler fittingly personified the virtues that had been her glory.' He was a generous and conscientious ruler best remembered for his devotion to Stoic philosophy." (The portrait on this piece fittingly personifies the man, and the Romans' vaunted reputation for realistic portraiture.)