A few weeks ago I picked up this Commodus Tetradrachm from a seller in France & was glad to see it finally arrived. It's a scarce reverse type but not rare. It is LK H as the H shows just a bit on the upper right, in hand. Commodus (177 - 192 A.D.) Egypt, Alexandria Billon Tetradrachm O: Μ Α ΚΟΜ ΑΝΤω СƐΒ ƐVСƐΒ, Laureate head right. R:Commodus, togate, standing left, holding branch and sceptre, crowned by Alexandria, turreted, standing left behind him, holding corn ears. LK H to left. RY 28 (AD 187/8) 12.5g 25mm Dattari (Savio) 3854; Emmett 2537.28
Nice one! Mine is similar to Chris's, same year even, but a Zeus-Ammon bust as opposed to Zeus. COMMODUS Billon Tetradrachm. 12.96g, 25.2mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 27 (AD 186/7). Dattari (Savio) 3900; RPC Online temp #14204; Emmett 2568.27. O: Laureate head of Commodus right. R: Head of Zeus-Ammon right, wearing solar disk and horn; L K-Z (date) across field. Ex Hermanubis Collection
Commodus is king of billon tetradrachms from Alexandria. Antoninus Pius holds that position for drachms. A large percentage of Commodus tets are less than high grade but I like them anyway. You can look them up in Emmett to get a rarity rating but being common and interesting outsells rare and boring most of the time. LKH, Hermanubis (any Egyptian god is an upgrade type) but not in good condition and R1 (common): 2. The ship sailing by the lighthouse always brings a premium despite it being only R1. This one is year 29 and common. The LH =28 is R5 and as rare as they get. Many seen are on small flans that lose dating information.
Nice. While I would know nothing about the relative scarcity of that reverse, I like the overall look of the coin. Also like the earthen patina on @ancient coin hunter's example. The Zeus-Ammon reverse on @zumbly's coin is super cool- I had never seen that before. I have seen the Pharos lighthouse and ship reverse like on the one @dougsmit posted, and would love to own one someday, but they seem too prohibitively pricey for my present budget.
