Misattributed Commodus denarius turns out to be scarce bust type

Now that the LIBERALITAS thread has been resurrected, I realize I erred in attributing one of the coins I posted. I had attributed it based on the auctioneer's description as RIC 10, but it's actually a bust variety of that coin, RIC 10a. Moreover, RIC and Cohen err in their description of the bust (corrected by BMCRE4).

Post your coins of Commodus with a cuirassed bust, coins misattributed by a dealer but turned out to be scarce/rare, or anything else you feel is relevant!



Here are the various portrait types as listed in RIC:


RIC 10 is for portrait type (a), "head, laureate, r." RIC 10a is for portrait type (c), "bust, laureate, draped, r."



The plate in the listing for RIC 10a depicts the aureus, not the denarius denomination.



RIC 10a corresponds to Cohen 300 (aureus) and 301 (denarius), the bust of which is described as laureate and draped bust right as well. Cohen 302 is the denarius with the laureate head right.



I believe Cohen's description of the bust is incorrect; it's not draped, but cuirassed. I suspect Mattingly lumped the aureus version of the coin, which does depict a laureate and draped bust, with the denarius version, calling them both RIC 10a, not realizing that the aureus and denarius versions of this coin have different bust types.

My coin -- RIC 10a -- is listed in BMCRE4 as Commodus 4, with bust type (d), correctly characterized as "bust, laureate, cuirassed, r." (BMCRE 3 is the laureate head type, RIC 10):



The example in the British Museum is very worn, but it demonstrates the same bust type as mine, laureate and cuirassed:



What's so special about this? Well, even though Cohen lists it as "common" (and so does RIC, following Cohen), the example in the British Museum is the only other example I can find online. All of the other examples of this particular coin are RIC 10; BMCRE 3; Cohen 302, with the laureate head type.

There were seven examples sold and archived at acsearchinfo, all with the laureate head. A search for Commodus 10a in particular yields only two examples, both of which are misattributed and have a laureate head. There are seven examples at OCRE, six of which are laureate head types and the other is the aforementioned British Museum specimen. The Coin Project has no examples of either. Wildwinds has two examples, both laureate head types.

In short, my coin appears to be a very scarce bust type when used with this particular reverse.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Nice bust, nice researching, and nice post, RC... The trifecta! I'll bet that coin is a very welcome addition to your collection, congrats!

I don't have a curriassed Commodus, but this Titus (that I've shown a number of times over this winter) was missattributed as his pops, Vespasian:

Titus as Caesar, AE As
Struck by Vespasian in 77-78 AD, Lugdunum Mint
Obverse: T CAES IMP AVG F TR P COS VI CENSOR, Head of Titus, laureate, right; globe at point of neck.
Reverse: Spes standing, left holding flower in right and raising skirt with left (anepigraphic), S-C across field.
References: RIC II (Vespasian) 1273
Size: 28mm, 8.7g

And this recent coin wasn't attributed at all, listed as an "unattributed Æ23 or Bronze 23-millimeter coin from Ancient Greece"... I had fun researching that one and actually found it pretty easily:

Macedon, Thessalonica
Marc Antony and Octavian, Struck 37 BC
Obverse: AΓΩNOΘEΣIA, head of Agonothesia right.
Reverse: ANT KAI, legend in two lines within wreath.
References: RPC 1552; SNG Copenhagen 375
Size: 23mm, 9.9g
Notes: Suffers from a weak strike on upper-left of obverse, lower-left of reverse.

 

Nice ones, @Justin Lee ! The funnest part of ancient coin collecting is the research and attribution!

 

Nice! But don't tease us; let's see the reverse!

 

Here are 3 sestertii of Commodus - the first of which has him cuirassed.

 

not too hard when all you have is one of the dude! ^^..in his 9th year with Mars reverse..