Commodus Tetradrachm with Pronoia (and a 1773 Virginia Halfpenny - Another Weird Lot)

Taking another eBay gamble, I won five coins for $10.00. Described as "Lot of Five Roman Coins" and somewhat darkly photographed, it was a pleasant surprise when it showed up in the mail.

Best of the lot is a Roman Egyptian tetradrachm of Commodus with Pronoia on the reverse. This baffled me at first - I didn't' think Egyptian tets of this era had reverse inscriptions, but I am quite new to this kind of material. Since I couldn't find any other Commodus tets with this reverse on Coin Talk, I thought I'd share it. It has a black patina with light green highlights that worry me some - the green is hard, not powdery, so I am hoping it is not bronze disease; I'll be keeping an eye on it. The coin is blacker and light-greener than my sunlit photo here.



Egypt Potin Tetradrachm
Commodus
Year 30 (189/190 A.D.)
Alexandria Mint
Laureate head right, MAKOMANTWCEBEVCEB / ΠP ONOIA L-Λ, Pronoia std. left, right hand raised, sceptre in left.
Milne 2691; Koln 2249;
Curtis 839; Emmett 2554.
(10.91 grams / 24 mm)

The rest of this "Roman" lot was pleasing, peculiar and pitiful:

Roman Egypt, Diocletian Tetradrachm, Nike reverse: black patina, quite nice. Pleasing!

Hadrian As - Fortuna reverse, a bit rough, partial green patina. Pleasing (but kind of pitiful)

Colonial Virginia - 1773 halfpenny of George III - This was just a black disc in the seller's photos. In hand, I figured this was just one of those "unofficial" halfpennies that are so common from this era, but when I got around to looking into it, it is actually an official Tower of London mint product for pre-Revolutionary Virginia. This one seems a bit undersized, so it might be "unofficial" as well. Peculiar (for a "Roman" coin).

Great Britain - 1826 halfpenny of George IV with rims hammered flat in several places. Pitiful.

 

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Not bad for the lot. I am not familiar with that reverse of Commodus either. Great score for the price though.

And most say Ebay is evil... All in how well you hunt.


Commodus (177 - 192 A.D.)
Egypt, Alexandria
Billion Tetradrachm
O: M A KOM ANTW CEBEVCEB, laureate head right.
R: Head of Zeus right, LK Z at sides. L KZ=Year 27=(186/187).
11.25g
23mm
Köln 2227; Dattari 3892; Milne 2665 = Emmett 2563.27.

 

What a deal! Here's the relevant listing in Emmett:

 

I would value the lot at about 10 times what you paid and that is allowing zero for the three bottom coins. The Commodus is not all that bad for these. It is always a good idea to keep an eye on billon to guard against bronze disease but I don't see anything worrisome here ---- yet. We should all look at our coins every so often and be aware of changes we see. I don't think it is unreasonable to ask looking or enjoying but save worry for when there is some sign of change. There are too many Commodus tets for me to want them all but this one with a reverse legend is not a bad one at all. I hope you will enjoy it for many years to come. Commodus is a bit unusual in that he was around long enough to have coins dated year 30. Who has a higher regnal date to show here? The best I can do is also year 30 but none of mine have legends naming the reverse. Yours is a nice coin and a steal at the price.

 

Awesome score, that Va Halfpenny is a superb bonus, congrats!

 

I just got this tetradrachm of Commodus but here it is again...Mine was $85 so you definitely got a bargain!



What a deal @Marsyas Mike !

 

I don't have any Commodus tets, but I do have a Virginia halfpenny (purchased from Ephesus Numismatics at the Baltimore show a couple of years ago, and correctly attributed at the time):

 

Thank you all for your comments and shared coins - these Roman-Egyptian tetradrachms are really starting to appeal to me and it is good to see what is out there. Heck, I am even growing fond of Virginia halfpennies.

 

Wow, that Commodus tet is a fantastic find in a $10 snack lot. Definitely a gamble that paid off, I'd say.