Obverse: Bust of Marcus Aurelius

Reverse:  Neptune holds a trident.  Left foot on prow.

Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor from 161 to 180, ruling jointly with Lucius Verus until Verus' death in 169 and jointly with his son, Commodus, 

from 177. He was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors.  During his reign, the Roman Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire in the 

East: Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. In central Europe, Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians  

with success during the Marcomannic Wars, although the threat of the Germanic peoples began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. A revolt in 

the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. Persecution of Christians increased during his reign.

His death in 180 is considered the end of the Pax Romana and the increasing instability in the west that followed has traditionally been seen as the 

beginning of the eventual Fall of the Western Roman Empire.