ID This Marcus Aurelius Denarius

Also noticed that the drapery is "full", as in it covers both shoulders whereas RIC 71 has slight drapery only on the left shoulder.

Well my reference does not list RIC 71 at all. So looks like another error has been found.

The legend should be exact and you are correct. RIC 71's legend does not match because of the "IMP". From waht I can find, the only match for the legend might be RIC 67 ( I can't find RIC 66 on wildwinds), but there is no drapery that I can see. Take a look at:

http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/marc...RIC_0067.jpg

The reverse legend is off from RIC 48. It should be TRP XVII COS III, while RIC48 is TRP XVI. Hmm, this is interesting, but I'm sure one of us will put our finger on it sooner or later.

Another odd characteristic is that it appears *slightly* smaller than my other denarii. Here it is next to a Elagabalus AR denarius RIC IV-II, 146:





My scale is broken, so I have no way to weigh it for the time being.

At first I was really concerned that it might be a fake, but the side cracks look good and I can see obvious signs of silver crystallization when examined through a loupe. I am by no means an expert, but if it is fake its probably a better fake.

That's a big difference. There is no visible signs of this being a fouree, I wonder if this is an unoffical issue stuck on the outskirts of the empire?

Do you know the seller or was it random on ebay? In many instances just knowing the reputation of the seller can make all the difference. That's not to say that even reputable dealers can't make mistakes. Also, on Forum there is a list of notorious sellers of fakes you might want to check out. If you care to ID the seller, some of us here may know the seller and can either vouch for them or against them.

I have a couple of coins in my collection that are listed as "Not In RIC", so this would not be out of the ordinary. I have a denarius of Marcus Aurelius I have attributed at RIC 67 (looks much like your coin BTW), and it is only 17mm and weighs in at 2.6g. So your coin may not be too small. Too bad you don't have scales, but can you measure it?

Here is my coin:

Not sure if posting ebay profiles is allowed or not, if not please excuse this.

The seller was claudius43. He had several other listings at the time I purchased the coin and has a good profile rating. Typically I will not buy from someone with anything less than 100% rating. Here is his public profile:
http://myworld.ebay.com/claudius43

The dimensions are:
left-to-right diameter is ~17.78mm and its top-to-bottom diameter is ~15.24mm.

I was pretty concerned about it when I first got it due to the diameter and its "oval" like shape. But my concerns were alleviated slightly when I saw the split flans on the side and a good looking interior. I compared it to several reference images in the helpful reference "WRONG IS MY penny?":
http://www.tesorillo.com/fakes/index.htm