TYPE Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), brass sestertius, struck ca. 171/2 AD, 24.30g DESCRIPTION . Obv: Laureate bust of Aurelius to right, legend: [ANTON]INVS AVG [...] Rev: Victory standing r., hanging shield inscribed VIC / GER on palm tree, legend: [...] / S C REFERENCE: RIC 1029, Cohen 272, BMC 1423 GRADING: VG / F, porous olive green patina ORDER INFO: R2704, $32 Commemorating the victories in the opening stages of the campaign against Germanic tribes ca. 171 AD. Despite this early celebratory coinage, the war turned out to be protracted and taxing, and Aurelius himself died on the campaign, exhausted by its hardship, only in his 59th year, in 180 AD. The final phase of this conflict - victorious, nonetheless, for the Romans - was dramatically portrayed in the opening sequences of the motion picture "Gladiator", though some artistic license was taken there when depicting the shortly ensuing death of Aurelius.