A Roman gold aureus of Lucius Verus, struck at Rome in AD 164 and certified by NGC as Gem Mint State, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, with the Fine Style designation, the highest combination of grades NGC Ancients awards short of a star. The coin weighs 7.28 grams, certification number 2100935-001.
The obverse bears the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Verus facing right, the wreath ribbon trailing at the nape, with the legend L VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS. The reverse reads TR P IIII IMP II COS II and shows Victory, winged and half-draped, standing front with her head turned right, inscribing VIC AVG on a shield she steadies atop a palm tree.
The coin commemorates the campaign that earned Verus his title. When the Parthian king Vologases IV invaded Armenia in 161, expelling its Roman client king, Marcus Aurelius sent his co-emperor east. Roman forces under Statius Priscus retook Armenia and captured its capital, Artaxata, in 163, and Verus was hailed Armeniacus, a title he accepted with some reluctance, having directed the war from Antioch rather than the front. The shield Victory inscribes on this reverse is the official record of that victory, rendered in gold.
Portraits of Verus in this quality are seldom encountered. The engraving is unusually sensitive, the tight curls and full beard of the young emperor rendered with the depth of relief that earned the Fine Style designation, and the surfaces are essentially as struck. References: Calicó 2177; RIC III 525; BMC 296 note; Cohen 247 var.
A Roman gold aureus of Lucius Verus, struck at Rome in AD 164 and certified by NGC as Gem Mint State, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, with the Fine Style designation, the highest combination of grades NGC Ancients awards short of a star. The coin weighs 7.28 grams, certification number 2100935-001.
The obverse bears the laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Verus facing right, the wreath ribbon trailing at the nape, with the legend L VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS. The reverse reads TR P IIII IMP II COS II and shows Victory, winged and half-draped, standing front with her head turned right, inscribing VIC AVG on a shield she steadies atop a palm tree.
The coin commemorates the campaign that earned Verus his title. When the Parthian king Vologases IV invaded Armenia in 161, expelling its Roman client king, Marcus Aurelius sent his co-emperor east. Roman forces under Statius Priscus retook Armenia and captured its capital, Artaxata, in 163, and Verus was hailed Armeniacus, a title he accepted with some reluctance, having directed the war from Antioch rather than the front. The shield Victory inscribes on this reverse is the official record of that victory, rendered in gold.
Portraits of Verus in this quality are seldom encountered. The engraving is unusually sensitive, the tight curls and full beard of the young emperor rendered with the depth of relief that earned the Fine Style designation, and the surfaces are essentially as struck. References: Calicó 2177; RIC III 525; BMC 296 note; Cohen 247 var.
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