Our partner for world banknotes research
| Naville Numismatics Ltd. > Auction 103 | Auction date: 9 August 2026 |
| Lot number: 629 Price realized: 160 GBP (Approx. 216 USD / 187 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Commodus, 177-192 Sestertius Rome 181, Æ 30.00 mm., 26.77 g. Laureate head r. Rev. Commodus seated l. on curule chair set on daïs; attendant standing behind him; before him, Liberalitas stands l., holding tessera and cornucopia; citizen on l. mounting steps toward platform. C 310. RIC 310. Rare. Brown tone and Very Fine. Ex NAC sale P, 2005, 2090. Much like Hadrian reversed the expansionist policies of his predecessor Trajan, so did Commodus, who did not want to pursue his father's plan of forcing the empire's border to the Carpathian mountains by establishing the provinces of Marcomannia and Sarmatia north of the Danube. Instead, not long after Marcus Aurelius died in March, 180, Commodus abandoned the newly annexed territories, patched up a reasonable peace with the northern tribes, and returned to Rome to hold a triumph late in October of that year. With his triumph and accession as sole-emperor, Commodus made a largesse; it was his third, for he had made two during his father's reign. The distribution marked by this sestertius of 181 is his fourth (LIB AVG IIII), and he would make a fifth within a year. The issuance of three largesses in less than about 18 months suggests Commodus was concerned about shoring up his popularity among the people and the army. The reverse type on this sestertius shows the emperor seated upon a platform, accompanied by an officer (perhaps the prefect of the praetorium) and Liberalitas, who holds a cornucopia and a board for counting coins. Below, a citizen is shown on the steps leading up to the platform, his outstretched toga already laden with coins from the largesse. Starting price: 150 GBP |  |
