EGYPT, Alexandria. Marcus Aurelius. As Caesar, AD 139-161. Æ Obol (20mm, 5.18 g, 12h). Dated RY 17 or 18 of Antoninus Pius (AD 154/5?). Near VF.

Triton XXIX – Session 5
Lot: 5645. Estimated: $ 250

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 1 700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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EGYPT, Alexandria. Marcus Aurelius. As Caesar, AD 139-161. Æ Obol (20mm, 5.18 g, 12h). Dated RY 17 or 18 of Antoninus Pius (AD 154/5?). Bare head right / Unidentified feline(?) animal seated right, head facing; L IH/Z (date) to left. Köln –; Dattari –; K&G –; RPC IV.4 –; Emmett –. Dark green patina with some red deposits, reverse design altered in antiquity. Near VF. Unusual. LOT SOLD AS IS, NO RETURNS..

The unusual reverse of this coin, featuring a female feline seated right, head facing, is quite out of the ordinary in the Alexandrian series. The coin most likely did not leave the mint with such an odd design. The obverse die can be matched to other obols of Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, so it is not a complete fantasy, but the reverse was certainly altered from another design. Close examination suggests that the original reverse may have been a griffin type, with the mythical beast resting a paw on a wheel, which was then smoothed down and altered into the present form. Below the date – itself recarved in the die from IZ to IH, another known feature in the series – one can see the faint trace of the griffin’s wing. The griffin type is not known on obols of Aurelius as Caesar, but it is not unexpected.

The main outstanding question, then, is when these alterations were made. Such fine work may be viewed as modern, an interpretation complicated by the presence of a hard red deposit on the face of the animal, a deposit of a kind that cannot be created through anything but time. That leaves the conclusion that it was altered in antiquity. The significance of cats in ancient Egypt is well known, and it would not be unheard of for an individual to alter a coin for their own, private purposes. Unfortunately, until an obol of Marcus Aurelius or Antoninius Pius with a griffin reverse and the IZ date altered to IH is found, this must remain speculation. As such, the lot will be SOLD AS IS, NO RETURNS.

Closing Date and Time: 21 January 2026 at 13:34:40 ET.



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