Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXII 7-8 Oct 2021
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Lucius Verus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 165. L VERVS ARM PARTH MAX, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / TR P V IMP III COS II, Emperor on horseback to right, spearing fallen enemy below. RIC III 544; C. 275; BMCRE 391; Biaggi 964; Calicó 2184. 7.29g, 19mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine; attractive portrait in high relief, beautiful reddish tone around devices.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica - Jesús Vico S.A, Auction 119, 6 October 2020, lot 126;
Previously privately purchased from Lopez in 1977.
Lucius Verus, co-emperor with his better-known adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his death from disease in 169 AD, was the eldest son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian's first intended heir who died in 138 AD. Verus was adopted by Antoninus Pius alongside Marcus Aurelius and thus eventually became one of the first co-rulers of the Roman Empire, a system for the division of responsibilities which became more commonplace towards the end of the second century. Their partnership was cemented by Lucius Verus' marriage to Marcus Aurelius' daughter in 164 AD.
Verus' portrait follows the Antonine mode with a long face, tightly curled hair and pointed beard, emphasising continuity between emperors and a united front with Marcus Aurelius through visual likeness even though there was no biological dynastic link. He is portrayed cuirassed, which by the time of Hadrian had become the dominant costume of imperial portraiture, emphasising the emperor's role in ensuring military security throughout the empire.
Verus indeed spent much of his reign shoring up the eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire. The obverse and reverse legends denote the titles with which he was honoured: Armeniacus (ARM) in 163 AD after the capture of the Armenian capital Artaxata, and Parthicus Maximus (PARTH MAX) after the invasion of Mesopotamia in 165 AD, which led to his acclamation as imperator by the army for the third time.
The rare reverse type of this attractive aureus is particularly arresting: an image of the emperor on horseback, the horse rearing as he spears a fallen enemy below. The group is dynamic, the horse's tail and Lucius Verus' cloak emphasising decisive movement. Such images of the emperor mounted in combat had come into favour during the reign of Trajan; this type bears a striking similarity to the heroic image of the unhelmeted emperor on horseback trampling a fallen barbarian below, his cloak billowing out behind him, used extensively on Trajan's coinage as well on the Great Trajanic Frieze (c.117-120), which was later reused to decorate the Arch of Constantine.
This image of the emperor as a military figure looked back beyond the Julio-Claudian preference for static imperial images which emphasised religious piety and civic authority to the Hellenistic taste for heroic representation and strong gestural poses. This reverse type of Lucius Verus emphasises personal charisma and military success, but belies the truth: the successes attributed to the emperor, for which he received so many titles, were all due to his experienced generals - Verus himself is not believed to have ever seen active combat.
Extremely Fine; attractive portrait in high relief, beautiful reddish tone around devices.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica - Jesús Vico S.A, Auction 119, 6 October 2020, lot 126;
Previously privately purchased from Lopez in 1977.
Lucius Verus, co-emperor with his better-known adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his death from disease in 169 AD, was the eldest son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian's first intended heir who died in 138 AD. Verus was adopted by Antoninus Pius alongside Marcus Aurelius and thus eventually became one of the first co-rulers of the Roman Empire, a system for the division of responsibilities which became more commonplace towards the end of the second century. Their partnership was cemented by Lucius Verus' marriage to Marcus Aurelius' daughter in 164 AD.
Verus' portrait follows the Antonine mode with a long face, tightly curled hair and pointed beard, emphasising continuity between emperors and a united front with Marcus Aurelius through visual likeness even though there was no biological dynastic link. He is portrayed cuirassed, which by the time of Hadrian had become the dominant costume of imperial portraiture, emphasising the emperor's role in ensuring military security throughout the empire.
Verus indeed spent much of his reign shoring up the eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire. The obverse and reverse legends denote the titles with which he was honoured: Armeniacus (ARM) in 163 AD after the capture of the Armenian capital Artaxata, and Parthicus Maximus (PARTH MAX) after the invasion of Mesopotamia in 165 AD, which led to his acclamation as imperator by the army for the third time.
The rare reverse type of this attractive aureus is particularly arresting: an image of the emperor on horseback, the horse rearing as he spears a fallen enemy below. The group is dynamic, the horse's tail and Lucius Verus' cloak emphasising decisive movement. Such images of the emperor mounted in combat had come into favour during the reign of Trajan; this type bears a striking similarity to the heroic image of the unhelmeted emperor on horseback trampling a fallen barbarian below, his cloak billowing out behind him, used extensively on Trajan's coinage as well on the Great Trajanic Frieze (c.117-120), which was later reused to decorate the Arch of Constantine.
This image of the emperor as a military figure looked back beyond the Julio-Claudian preference for static imperial images which emphasised religious piety and civic authority to the Hellenistic taste for heroic representation and strong gestural poses. This reverse type of Lucius Verus emphasises personal charisma and military success, but belies the truth: the successes attributed to the emperor, for which he received so many titles, were all due to his experienced generals - Verus himself is not believed to have ever seen active combat.