Very Rare Tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius & Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar

CNG 100, Lot: 1783. Estimate $500. Sold for $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius, with Marcus Aurelius as Caesar. AD 138-161. BI Tetradrachm (23mm, 13.76 g, 12h). Dated RY 5 (AD 141/2). [AVT K] T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNINO[C], laureate head right / OVHPOC KAICAP, bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust left of Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar; L Є (date) across lower field. Köln 1374; Dattari (Savio) 8048; K&G 35.134; Emmett 1407.5 var. (reverse legend). Good VF, toned, some porosity. Very rare, only three published examples: one in Köln (=K&G 35.134) and two in the Dattari collection.

This very rare variety, which names Marcus Aurelius as “Verus Caesar” on the reverse, reflects the name that Aurelius took upon his adoption by Antoninus Pius–Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus.