Rare RELIG AVG Sestertius
Commemorating the Miracle of the Rain

329, Lot: 454. Estimate $300. Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Marcus Aurelius. AD 161-180. Æ Sestertius (29mm, 22.17 g, 11h). Rome mint. Struck AD 173. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / 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; RELIG AVG in exergue. RIC III 1074; MIR 18, 258-6/37; Banti 260. VF, dark green and brown patina. Rare.

From the Fairfield Collection.

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.