Lucilla (AD 164-182/3). AV aureus (20mm, 7.34 gm, 1h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, ex-jewelry. Rome, AD 164-169. LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F, draped bust of Lucilla right, seen from front, hair weaved and coiled at lower back of head in small chignon / V-E-NVS Venus standing facing, head left, apple in outstretched right hand, grounded scepter in left. RIC III (Marcus Aurelius) 783. Calicó 2218. Solidly struck with bold flow lines on lustrous surfaces. Ex MDC Monaco, Auction 6 (29 October 2020), lot 121 The second of six daughters born to Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior, Lucilla grew up as an imperial princess, with the strange mix of power and helplessness such a position entailed in ancient Rome. In AD 161, at the age of 12, she was betrothed to Lucius Verus, who was her father's adoptive brother and co-emperor. The marriage took place three years later in Ephesus, while Lucius was on campaign against the Parthians in the East. Although Lucius had a wandering eye and Lucilla was no model of fidelity, the marriage endured until his sudden death to a stroke in AD 169. Much against her wishes, her father then married her off to a distinguished elderly senator, Tiberius Claudius Pompienus. Although her husband was one of the most powerful men in government, Lucilla was no longer Augusta, or empress, a situation she found increasingly intolerable. The death of Marcus and the accession of her brother Commodus in AD 180 made matters worse, since she frequently quarreled with him and envied his wife, Crispina, who now held the title of Augusta. In AD 182, she entered into a plot with one of her lovers to do away with Commodus. But the assassin hesitated after drawing the knife and was wrestled to the ground before he could strike. When Lucilla's role in the plot was exposed, she was arrested and exiled to the island of Capri. Her death, either by starvation or execution, came shortly thereafter.

HID09801242017

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