Lucius Verus, 161 - 169
Aureus 163-164, AV 7.29 g. ·L·VERVS AVG – ARMENIACVS Laureate and cuirassed bust r. Rev. TR P IIII ·IMP II – COS II Armenia seated l., l. hand resting on bow and quiver; behind, trophy; in exergue, ARMEN. C 7. BMC M. Aurelius and L. Verus 297 note. RIC M. Aurelius 507. Calicó 2106. Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Extremely fine / good extremely fine Ex Rollin & Feuardent 26th May 1909, J. Evans, 155 and Hess-Leu 41, 1969, 247 sales. This coin is sold with an export licence issued by the government of Spain. The joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus began in crisis. The Parthians under Vologases IV broke their treaty with Rome and crossed their western border, easily overrunning Roman defenses and capturing Armenia. Lucius Verus sailed to Asia Minor, where he eventually led the Roman army to victory within its former territories and followed that up with an extremely successful counter-offensive. The result was the recovery of Armenia and Syria, the sack of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and the conquest of Media and Mesopotamia. It was one of the most successful Roman military efforts east of the Euphrates in all Roman history, but with it came the unexpected consequence of the plague, which soldiers returning from this campaign brought into the empire. The pestilence was terrifying, and it had devastating consequences for much of Asia Minor and Europe during the next decade.