| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31089 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: Ancients Commodus, as Augustus (AD 177-192). AE sestertius (32mm, 29.39 gm, 12h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5. Rome, AD 190-191. M COMMOD ANT P FE-LIX AVG BRIT P P, laureate head of Commodus right / HERC COMMODIANO P M T-R P XVI COS VI, Hercules standing facing, head left, nude to waist, cradling cornucopia in left arm, patera in outstretched right hand over lit garlanded altar at feet to left; transverse club leaning on right side of altar, tree to left draped with lion skin. RIC III 581. A handsome piece bearing a very typical theme of Commodus to resonate very strongly with Hercules. This coin was struck from artistically rendered dies with great care spent to his portrait and the reverse details like the lion skin. The sole reign of Commodus, AD 180-192, is often viewed as the tipping point where the Roman Empire's long decline began. Commodus has thus been featured in novels, plays, and feature films as a villain, most recently in the cinema epics "Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) and "Gladiator" (2001). Son of the greatly revered "Philosopher Emperor" Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180), Commodus was the first emperor born "in the purple" in AD 161. Marcus made him co-Augustus in AD 177. He accompanied Marcus on a military campaign against the Germans in AD 178; worn out by his exertions, Marcus died on 17 March AD 180. Freed of his dutiful father's control, Commodus immediately cut a deal with the Germans and abandoned all further plans of military conquest. Returning to Rome, he plunged into sensual pursuits and left governing to a succession of favorites who plundered the public purse and aggrandized themselves. While Commodus continued and worsened the debasement of Roman silver coinage begun by his father, the gold coinage remained of high purity, weight, and artistry. This beautiful aureus, struck early in his sole reign, depicts him as a young man very much in the image of his father. The historians Dio and Herodian both describe him as exceptionally handsome, a picture borne out by his coin portraits and sculpture. The reverse evokes the "Security of the Public" in an uncertain age. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-commodus-as-augustus-ad-177-192-ae-sestertius-32mm-2939-gm-12h-ngc-choice-vf-5-5-3-5/a/3115-31089.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 8000-10000 USD |  |
