Obverse: M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX;
Laureate Bust of the Emperor Facing Right
Reverse: TR P XXIII IMP V COS III; Aequitas Seated
to the Left, Holding Scales and a Cornucopiae
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the Emperor of
Rome from 161 until his death in 180 A.D. Born
Marcus Annius Verus, he was adopted by the
emperor Antoninus Pius in 138, and married his
daughter Annia Galeria Faustina a few years
later. He succeeded to the throne without
difficulty on Antoninus' death. Marcus Aurelius
was educated by the best tutors in Rome and
was a devotee of Stoicism. However, he felt with
more religious fervor the communion of man in
the unity of the universe than most other Stoics.
In his later years, he wrote the Meditations as a
relief from his lonely office, in which he attempts
to reconcile his Stoic philosophy of virtue and
self-sacrifice with his role as emperor.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of long forgotten empires. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. Although Marcus Aurelius’
Meditations is considered among the most
important books in history, his legacy extends
beyond the written word. The philosophical
leader Marcus Aurelius lives on in artifacts like
this coin: concrete remnants of ancient empires
passed from the hands of civilization to
civilization, from generation to generation that
appear as vibrant today as the day they were
struck.
- (C.7872)
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