Divus Marcus Aurelius, died 180. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 29 mm, 20.69 g, 6 h), Rome, struck under Commodus, 180. DIVVS M ANTONINVS PIVS Bare head of Divus Marcus Aurelius to right. Rev. CONSECRATIO / S - C Divus Marcus Aurelius, raising his right hand in salute and holding scepter in his left, seated to left on the back of an eagle flying to right, holding thunderbolt in its talons. BMC 395. Cohen 94. RIC 660. Scratch on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.


There are several types employed for Consecration issues, from funeral pyres to altars, eagles, and peacocks. While eagles were reserved for deified emperors, peacocks are usually found on the reverses of consecration issues of empresses, as the peacock was the bird sacred to Juno, the queen of the gods. Here, we have the deified Marcus Aurelius, seated upon the back of an eagle, the bird sacred to Jupiter, the king of the gods. It appears that it is just about to begin its flight to bring the soul of the emperor to Mount Olympus, where he can join in the feasting and celebration with the other gods, both the original Graeco-Roman pantheon as well as his imperial predecessors, who had been deified before him.