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COIN
Unique ID: CORN-748DB3
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Brass sestertius of Marcus Aurelius as Augustus (c.AD 161-180), Victory holding shield on trunk of palm tree with VIC PAR on shield, 2nd issue, c.AD 166; BMC 1290; RIC 934-5 This coin was struck to celebrate the Roman victory over the Parthian army in the East (note VIC PAR on the shield). The Romans even reached the Parthian capital Ctesiphon, in modern Iraq, which they sacked in AD 165. This coin is square in shape and would have come from a square blank clipped from a rectangular row of blanks, which was common way of producing sestertii in the 2nd century AD.
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: Royal Cornwall Museum
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by a museum - not a Treasure case
Chronology
Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 166
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Thickness: 4.7 mm
Weight: 19.32 g
Diameter: 30.8 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 15th April 2007
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Struck or hammered
Completeness: Complete
Coin data (numismatics)
Denomination: Sestertius
Denomination qualifier: Certain
Ruler/issuer: Marcus Aurelius (as Augustus)
Primary ruler qualifier: Probably
Reece period: Period 9 [180-193]
Mint or issue place: Rome
Mint qualifier: Probably
Obverse description: laureate head facing right
Obverse inscription: mostly missing [M AVREL ANTONINVS] AVG A[RM PARTH MAX]
Reverse description: Victory, winged, naked to waist, standing front, head right, holding palm in right hand and in left hand holding round shield inscribed VIC // PAR, on the trunk of a palm tree, with S and C left and right, low in field
Reverse inscription: mostly missing [TR POT XX] IMP [IIII COS I]II
Degree of wear: Hardly worn: extremely fine
Status: Regular
Status qualifier: Certain
Coin references
- BMC : IV 1290
- RIC : III 934-5
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Lanivet (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SX0366
Four figure Latitude: 50.460663
Four figure longitude: -4.776911
1:25K map: SX0366
1:10K map: SX06NW
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattingly, H. and Carson, R.A.G. | 1976 | Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum | London | British Museum Press | 592, Plate 79, Fig.6, | No.1290 | |
| Mattingly, H. and Sydenham, E.A. | 1930 | Roman Imperial Coinage: Antoninus Pius to Commodus | London | Spink and Son Ltd | 287, | Nos. 934-5 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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