Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 47 28 Jun 2018
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Lucius Verus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 162. IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG, bare-headed and draped bust left, seen from behind / CONCORDIAE AVGVSTOR TR P II, Lucius Verus standing right, clasping hands with Marcus Aurelius standing left. RIC (Aurelius)470; BMCRE (Aurelius) p. 411, † note; C. 50; Calicó 2122 (same obverse die). 7.24g, 19mm, 6h.
Near Extremely Fine; lustrous metal. Very Rare; only 10 examples on CoinArchives.
From a private Swiss collection.
Shortly after Lucius Verus succeeded to the position of co-emperor in AD 161, a position he shared with Marcus Aurelius, the peace Antoninus Pius had negotiated with the Parthians collapsed. The Parthian king Vologases IV invaded the Kingdom of Armenia, then a Roman client state, expelling the king and installing his own. To compound the difficulties facing the empire, there was also the threat of war in the north of Britain and in upper Germany, where the Chatti had breached the border.
Both initial attempts to recover the territory of Armenia by the Governor of Cappadocia, Marcus Sedatius Severianus, and the Governor of Syria, L. Attidius Cornelianus, were unsuccessful. Severianus led a legion (perhaps the IX Hispana) into Armenia, but was trapped and his legion massacred. Cornelianus' army too was defeated, and retreated in disarray. In 162, with rebellion now also brewing in Syria, Marcus Aurelius took the decision to send his imperial colleague Lucius Verus to defend the Eastern territories in person.
Near Extremely Fine; lustrous metal. Very Rare; only 10 examples on CoinArchives.
From a private Swiss collection.
Shortly after Lucius Verus succeeded to the position of co-emperor in AD 161, a position he shared with Marcus Aurelius, the peace Antoninus Pius had negotiated with the Parthians collapsed. The Parthian king Vologases IV invaded the Kingdom of Armenia, then a Roman client state, expelling the king and installing his own. To compound the difficulties facing the empire, there was also the threat of war in the north of Britain and in upper Germany, where the Chatti had breached the border.
Both initial attempts to recover the territory of Armenia by the Governor of Cappadocia, Marcus Sedatius Severianus, and the Governor of Syria, L. Attidius Cornelianus, were unsuccessful. Severianus led a legion (perhaps the IX Hispana) into Armenia, but was trapped and his legion massacred. Cornelianus' army too was defeated, and retreated in disarray. In 162, with rebellion now also brewing in Syria, Marcus Aurelius took the decision to send his imperial colleague Lucius Verus to defend the Eastern territories in person.