Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich

Auction 91  –  23 May 2016

Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich, Auction 91

The George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei

Mo, 23.05.2016, from 11:30 AM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

The George W. La Borde Collection of Roman Aurei Part I
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Marcus Aurelius, 161 – 180
Divus Marcus Aurelius . Aureus after 180, AV 7.32 g. DIVVS M AN – TONINVS PIVS Bare head r. Rev. CONSE – CRATIO Four-tiered funeral pyre garlanded and adorned with statues in niches; surmounted by Marcus Aurelius in facing quadriga. C 96. BMC Commodus 26. RIC Commodus 275. Calicó 1834 (this reverse die).
Very rare. An interesting issue with an unusual portrait, a light mark in field
and a small edge nick at five o’clock on reverse, otherwise extremely fine
Provenance
Sold by Bank Leu, auction 57, Zurich, 25 May 1993, lot 278.
Sold by Fritz Rudolph Künker, auction 67, Osnabrück, 9 October 2001, lot 822.
Sold by Gerhard Hirsch Nachf., auction 279 (”Die Generationensammlung”), Munich, 8 February 2012, lot 2471.

The long reign of Marcus Aurelius came to an end on March 17, A.D. 180 when the aged and infirm emperor died while on campaign fighting the Marcomanni and Quadi along the Danubian frontier at Vindobona (modern Vienna). His death brought to an end the century-long era of the ‘Adoptive Emperors’, the rulers from Nerva to Marcus Aurelius whose reigns collectively were the culmination of Roman civilization. The key to this most prosperous period in Roman history had been the imperial institution of succession by adoption, whereby the candidate chosen as successor had been carefully selected and then groomed in the responsibilities of government. While Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius all died without natural heirs and thus relied on this institution to provide a successor, Marcus Aurelius had a son, Commodus, whom he planned to succeed him. After Aurelius’ death, the Senate obliged Commodus’ request to deify his late father, and the mint at Rome soon produced a prodigious commemorative coinage in his honour, including this attractive aureus showing the lofty funeral pyre on which the emperor was cremated.

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Bidding

Price realized 11'000 CHF
Starting price 4'800 CHF
Estimate 6'000 CHF
The auction is closed.
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