Rare RELIG AVG Sestertius
Commemorating the Miracle of the Rain

274, Lot: 370. Estimate $150. Sold for $360. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Marcus Aurelius. AD 161-180. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 26.72 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 173. Laureate bust right, slight drapery / Mercury standing left on pedestal, holding caduceus and purse, within temple with figural columns (telamones); on semicircular pediment, tortoise, cockerel, ram, caduceus, winged helmet, and purse; [REL]IG AVG in exergue. RIC III 1075 var. (bust type); Banti 257. Fine, brown surfaces, roughness. Rare.

This type is thought to refer to the famous rain miracle of the “Thundering Legion”. While battling Quadi forces along the Danube in AD 173, the Legio XII Fulminata, exhausted by thirst, was close to falling to their opponents. Defeat seemed eminent until a sudden rain storm reinvigorated the Roman troops while frightening the enemy. Marcus attributed the storm to the grace of Mercury, while an alternative Christian version, one that appears to have been established quite early, gave credit to the prayers of Christian soldiers serving in the legion.