The trajectory plots the median of recorded sales for this type in VF–XF condition, at hammer plus buyer’s premium. Median is used rather than mean so one exceptional specimen cannot drag the series. Each figure is the median of its own window, not a spot price, which is why every stat is labelled with the window it covers.
Read these caveats before relying on the numbers.
- Mixed grade band. VF and XF are pooled. A choice XF denarius can fetch several times a bare VF of the same type, so the median describes the band as a whole and not any one grade.
- One fixed exchange rate. Figures originate as USD in our sample dossier and every year is converted at the same rate (shown in the chart tooltip). EUR/USD moved materially across this period, so the shape of the curve is the dollar trend re-expressed in euro, not a euro-market trend.
- The current year is incomplete. Its point is year-to-date and will move as the season’s sales are recorded.
- Private sales are only partly observable. Auction results are published; private treaty is not. The channel split reflects what we can record, so the private share is a floor rather than a measured total.
These are illustrative reference figures from a single dossier, not a live index. Condition, centring, strike and an unbroken legend move individual prices more than the reverse type does — always check current results before buying or selling.
- Type reference OCRE — RIC III Marcus Aurelius 171 AR Denarius, Rome, AD 166–167. Obv. M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX; Rev. TR P XXI IMP IIII COS III, Aequitas with scales and cornucopiae. American Numismatic Society.
- Grade definitions Grading Roman Coins: From Fine to Mint State The grading standard behind the VF–XF band above — Very Fine is moderate wear with most detail clear, Extremely Fine (written EF or XF) is light wear on the highest points only. Ancients are graded descriptively, not on the modern 1–70 scale.
- Verify current results acsearch — live auction archive Aggregates realised prices across international auction houses. Search results run wider than this single issue, so read the attributions before comparing — but it is the fastest way to check today’s market against the figures above.