Lucilla. Augusta, AD 164-169. Æ Sestertius (29mm, 22.99 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, AD 163. VF.

CNG Feature Auction 130
Lot: 492. Estimated: $ 500

Roman Imperial, Bronze

Sold For $ 1 400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Lucilla. Augusta, AD 164-169. Æ Sestertius (29mm, 22.99 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, AD 163. Draped bust right / Concordia seated left, holding patera and cornucopia. RIC III 1732 (Aurelius); MIR 18, 2-6b; Banti 6. Attractive brown patina, a few spots of minor green encrustation. VF.

Ex John Wright Collection; Classical Numismatic Group 67 (22 September 2004), lot 1587.

The second of six daughters born to Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior, Lucilla grew up as an imperial princess, with the strange mix of power and helplessness such a position entailed in ancient Rome. In AD 161, at the age of 12, she was betrothed to Lucius Verus, her father’s co-emperor, who was 18 years her senior and had many years earlier actually been betrothed to her mother. This lovely aureus was likely struck shortly after her marriage to Verus in AD 164, with a longer form of obverse legend identifying her as “daughter of Antoninus Augustus” (Marcus Aurelius). Later coins shorten this to simply “Lucilla Augusta.” Lucilla lost the title of Augusta after the sudden death of Verus in AD 169 and her subsequent forced marriage to the elderly senator Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus. This loss of status led her into an unsuccessful plot against Commodus in AD 182, with fatal results.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 130 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 23-24 September 2025. This lot is in Session Two, which will begin 23 September at 2 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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