Commodus, Finally

Well I got a Commodus finally. Large heavy coin. Sestertius, 20 gms,
25 mm. Says Rare but I did not pay much for it.

 

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Congrats!

I have 1 coin of Commodus myself but it's a denarius rather than a sestertius like yours.

It's a bit of a dull coin (physically) though and I'd like to get a better one some day.

 

I like it…

 

That's a thick one!

Commodus has many interesting provincials too.


MOESIA INFERIOR, Marcianopolis. Commodus
AE 25mm, 8.5 gm
circa CE 177-192
Obv: ΑΥ ΚΑΙ Λ ΑΥΡΗ ΚΟΜΟΔΟС; bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛЄΙΤΩΝ; the Three Graces standing facing, heads left, right, and right, respectively: the left holds amphora over dolphin, the center drapes arms over others, and the right holds wreath over amphora
Ref: Hristova & Jekov 6.10.26.4; RPC IV online 4319; Varbanov 702 corr. (direction of heads).

 

That's a nice chunky one, @Mammothtooth !

I have this chunky little dupondius of Commodus. I like your bust more than mine.

Commodus
Dupondius
179 AD
Obverse: L AVREL COMMODVS AVG TR P IIII, radiate head right
Reverse: IMP III COS II P P S-C, Victory advancing left bearing wreath & palm
20.8mm/10.78g
Refs: RIC 1614/BMC 1708/Cohen 237

 

Thanks, yeah it weighs 20.2 gms.

 

Nice pick up - I like the portrait!

I have a smaller As that is pretty rough and a well worn sestertius that I really like ... large at 33mm and 24.4g





AE sestertius. 184–185 AD. M COMMODVS ANTO—N AVG PIVS BRIT, laureate head of Commodus right. Reverse - VOTA SVSCEP DECEN P M TR P X IMP VII COS IIII P P, emperor, veiled and togate, sacrificing left from patera over tripod, S—C across field. 33mm, 24.4g.

 

Here's a sestertius from the last year of his life:


Commodus, AD 177-192.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 22.51 g, 29.2 mm, 1 h.
Rome, AD 192.
Obv: L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL, laureate bust of Commodus, right, with slight drapery on left shoulder.
Rev: LIB AVG P M TR P XVII COS VII P P, Libertas standing facing, head left, holding pileus in right hand and vindicta in left hand; S C l. and r., low in field; star, mid right, in field.
Refs: RIC 619b; BMCRE 692 var. (bust); Cohen 290; RCV 5764; ERIC II 573 var. (bust).

 

Three sestertii of Commodus. Middle with Cybele riding lion....

 

It seems there was nothing to admire about the man but his coinage includes some very interesting features. He lasted long enough that we see him age and degenerate. Similarly, his early coins are well made but later ones are lesser. He has many good types but the one for which he is famous shows him wearing the lion skin of Hercules. I have a denarius and an as. Have you seen his bimetallic medallions?

 

Nice addition, the roman "villains" often come with a higher price tag than other emperors. Here my two examples from his reign:
Emperor Commodus - As - LIBERTAS AVG TRP VI IMP IIII COS III PP

Emperor Commodus - Denarius - IOVI IVVEN P M TRP XIIII COS V DES VI

 

Cool! That denarius is of the same reverse type as the sestertius in the OP.

 

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=123536

Not my coin, just in case you weren't sure.

 

Nice one, @Mammothtooth - there is a lot of legends to work with. Commodus is one of my favorite emperors to collect. Recently I upgraded my example of the OP's type:

Here is the first one I got - attribution uncertain because of missing legends:


Commodus Æ Sestertius
(c. 188-189 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[M] COM[MOD(VS?) ANT P FELIX AVG BRIT (P P?)], laureate head r. / IO[VI IVV]ENI P M TR P XII[II? IMP VIII COS V (DES VI / PP?)] S C: Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt & sceptre, eagle left.
RIC III 499 /525/542 (see notes).
(15.07 grams / 26 x 24 mm)
eBay July 2020 Lot @ $3.30
Attribution Note: Three IOVI IVVENI types:
RIC 499: COMMODVS / TR P XII
RIC 525: COMMODVS / TR P XIIII COS V
RIC 542: COMMOD / TR P XIIII COS V DES VI
Too much legend is missing to attribute beyond being one of the three above.

This is my upgrade - enough legend was (barely) visible for a full attribution:


Commodus Æ Sestertius
(188-189 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[M COM]MODVS ANT P [FELIX] AVG BR[IT], laureate head right / IOVI IV[VENI P M] TR P XIIII IM[P VIII COS V], S C, Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt & sceptre, eagle left.
RIC III 525.
(19.17 grams / 29 x 26 mm)
eBay Aug. 2021 Lot @ $7.75

If my notes are correct, the OP seems to be: RIC 542: COMMOD / TR P XIIII COS V DES VI.

 

Commodus has been much criticized and even vilified by historical tradition. The fact is that the news of his death (assassinated, but by who?) was met with enthusiasm by the senators. He was hated by the Senate, but not by the People. The senators criticized him for his love of excessive luxury, for the terror he had spread among them (several senators had been executed) and ridiculed him for having personally performed in the arena or the circus. But this was the old and still efficient recipe of populism: he had been posing as siding with the people against the elites, and his showman talent as well as his lavish bling-bling lifestyle were popular.

His identification with Hercules is the mark of his spiritual life. For Pagans of the time, Hercules was what Jesus Christ was for the Christians. Hercules was son of God (Jupiter), had escaped assassination when he was a baby, had devoted his life to fight evil on earth, had been to the underworld to resuscitate a dead person and bring her back to life, had suffered his painful passion, had died and become an immortal... Hercules was the god descended among us as a mortal everyone wanted to worship.

The son of the stoician philosopher Marcus Aurelius was a kind of philosopher too, but more a mystic than a philosopher: he wanted to imitate Hercules: act for good, don't fear death and become immortal. After all, that's what the Christian message is about, isn't it? He was friendly with Christians, his mistress Marcia was probably herself a Christian, and to please her and her friend the bishop of Rome Victor I he pardoned and liberated Christian convicts.

Commodus was not the only person who claimed to be like Hercules. There are statues of other unknown people represented as Hercules, even a lady! It was a spiritual movement of the late 2nd - early 3rd century.


Commodus as Hercules. Bust found almost intact, it had been carefully hidden to avoid being smashed after Commodus' death and official damnatio memoriae. Rome, Musei Capitolini.


Funerary statue of a man from North Africa. Tunis, Bardo Museum.


Statue of a high ranking lady dressed as Hercules. The Hercules religion was inclusive... Rome, Musei Vaticani.

All senators were not unanimous to condemn Commodus. Pertinax, his successor, managed to give him a decent (but unofficial) funeral to prevent those who demanded his rotting corpse being thrown to the sewer. Septimius Severus officially rehabilitated his memory, claimed he was Commodus' brother and had him deified. Under Trajan Decius there were antoniniani minted with Divo Commodo.

 

Not Jupiter but Zeus, note that Commodus was the last emperor to strike significant numbers of bronze drachms at Alexandria presumably due to the debasement of the tetradrachm, which had silver in it but a small percentage. By the time of Commodus the metal was mostly potin. Here is a tetradrachm.

Commodus:

Zeus

Mint of Alexandria, Egypt.

Commodus (180-192. A.D.)

Type: Billon Tetradrachm, 25mm, 11.06 grams

Obverse: M AVΡ KOMMO ANTΩNINOC CE, Laureate bust of Commodus right

Reverse: VΠAT OCTOΔ, Zeus seated left, holding scepter and thunderbolt, K theta in field

Reference: Emmett 2567

 

@GinoLR True Commodus was mainly a tyrant in the eyes of the Senat. But regarding your female Hercules I am not so sure if this isnt a depiction of Queen Omphale who is also sometimes depicted wearing the herculean attire.

 

Roman Imperial Coinage, Commodus (as Cæsar), As, Rome, 175-6, draped bust right, rev. priestly implements, 11.08g (RIC Marcus Aurelius 1539; BMC Marcus Aurelius 1533). Slightly weak on reverse, otherwise very fine, portrait better, attractive green patina. Dix Noonan Webb March 10 2021.
I liked the patina but I've yet to see an Auction House say unattractive patina.