| Note |
The coin does not resemble those struck at Antioch during the reign of Hadrian, either in style, fabric, module, or weight. However, it does resemble the coins struck at an irregular Antioch mint in the name of Lucius Verus, some of which have Latin inscriptions. See RPC IV.3, nos. 41616 (L VERVS AVG ARMEN[IACVS]), 41617, 41620, and 94362 (ΟΥ[ΗΡΟϹ] CAESAR). Since these coins are irregular in style, legends, module, and weight, and because there are no similar coins depicting Marcus Aurelius, it seems likely that they were struck at a military mint during Verus’s stay in Antioch during the Parthian campaign, CE 162 to 166. The coin would then have been struck to honor Verus’s deceased father, Aelius Caesar. The reverse design, with a small eagle below SC and a numeral-letter above the SC, copies a reverse type introduced under Antoninus Pius, which reinforces the conclusion that this coin was not struck during the lifetime of Aelius Caesar, but during the Antonine period. We are grateful to Richard McAlee for this comment.
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