| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 144 with CNG & NGSA | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 1106 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: The Geoffrey Cope Collection of Ancient Greek and Roman Bronzes. The Roman Empire. Commodus augustus, 177 – 192. Description Sestertius, Roma 192, Æ 31 mm, 26.38 g. L AEL AVREL CO-MM AVG P FEL Laureate head r. Rev. HERCVLI ROMANO AVG / S – C Naked Hercules with features of Commodus standing l., placing r. hand on trophy and holding club and lion's skin in l. hand. Reference C 203 BMC 715 RIC 640 M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A Portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 71 (this coin) Condition Very rare. A portrait of fine style and an interesting reverse composition. Dark green patina and about extremely fine / extremely fine Provenance Sternberg sale VIII, 1977, 679 NAC sale 74, 2013, 313 Note: This sestertius was issued in the final year of Commodus' life, when his paranoia and his belief in his own divinity had reached such heights that a plot against him was hatched in the palace. Among the best evidence of his delusional state of mind are the designs that appear on coinage. Some of these designs are so ludicrous and so highly personal that we must assume they were conceived by Commodus himself. A perfect example is this reverse type, inscribed HERCVLI ROMANO AVG ('to the August Roman Hercules'), which shows Commodus in the guise of Hercules, crowning a trophy. It lends credibility to even the most fantastic claims of the ancient historians, who record that Commodus worshipped Hercules so intensely that by the end of his life he believed himself to be an incarnation of the mythological hero. Other coin types confirm Commodus' apparent insanity. Foremost among them is a relatively common type that shows on its obverse Commodus, as Hercules, wearing the scalp of the Nemean lion, and on its reverse Hercules' instruments: the club, bow, and quiver with arrows. To this we may add reverse types that depict Commodus tilling soil in what amounts to a traditional foundation scene. One of these is dedicated to his hometown of Lanuvium, which he re-founded as Colonia Lanuvina Commodiana, and the next to Rome itself, which he vaingloriously re-founded as Colonia Commodiana. Estimate: 6000 CHF |  |
