KINGS OF OSRHOENE (EDESSA). Ma'nu VIII Philoromaios, 167-179. AE (Bronze, 14 mm, 1.60 g, 5 h), with Marcus Aurelius. Bare-headed and draped bust of Marcus Aurelius (?) to right. Rev. 'Ma'nu King' in two lines in Syriac Esṭrangēlā. BMC -. RPC IV online -. Apparently unpublished and unique. A very interesting coin with lovely earthen highlights. Flan faults near the edge, otherwise, good very fine.

What makes this coin particularly interesting is the fact that the obverse shows a distinctly Roman portrait with curly hair: this is presumably Marcus Aurelius, whose co-ruler Lucius Verus appears on a similar, though somewhat smaller and cruder issue of Ma'nu VIII (see Leu 3, 27 October 2018, 140). The broad flan and heavy weight of our coin indicate that it is a double unit of lot 400 below