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Monthly Auction 271726 25 Jun 2017
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Aelius Caesar (AD 136-138). AR denarius. NGC Choice VF. Rome, AD 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head of Aelius right / TR POT COS II, Concordia seated left, holding patera, resting left elbow on cornucopiae set on base, CONCORD in exergue. RIC 436. RSC 1. Attractive rainbow-hued toning.
Aelius Caesar began life in around AD 104 as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, son of a distinguished senator who was consul in the year AD 106. Handsome and affable, Lucius entered public service in his 20s and rose steadily through the ladder of public offices until he attracted the attention of the Emperor Hadrian, who by the mid AD 130s was aging rapidly and searching for a suitable heir. Upon attaining the consulship in 136, Aelius was formally adopted by Hadrian and took the name Lucius Aelius Caesar, clearly marking him out as successor to the throne. Historians have long speculated as to why Hadrian chose the seemingly unimpressive Aelius, some even postulating that he was Hadrian's illegitimate son. However, Aelius may well have been far more competent than chroniclers of the time, who tended to be hostile toward Hadrian, allowed. Biographer Anthony Birley proposes another theory: Known to be in poor health, Aelius was intended mainly as a temporary "place holder" until Hadrian's true choice, the 15-year old Marcus Annius Verus, could come of age. In any case, the his elevation was duly celebrated with elaborate games and Hadrian even ordered the deaths of two potential rivals, his uncle Servianus and grand-nephew Fuscus, who were accused of plotting a coup. Aelius served another consulship in AD 137 and was granted the tribunican power, making him Hadrian's junior partner in government. He left for Pannonia that year to gain experience managing a province and make himself known to the military; however, the climate there was hard on his already frail constitution, and he returned to Rome in the winter having contracted tuberculosis. He fell seriously ill on New Year's Eve and died early on January 1, AD 138, prompting Hadrian to remark that he had "leaned against a tottering wall." Aelius' son, the future Lucius Verus, did eventually become co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, and his family name of Commodus was given to Marcus' own son and successor.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 200-280 USD
Aelius Caesar (AD 136-138). AR denarius. NGC Choice VF. Rome, AD 137. L AELIVS CAESAR, bare head of Aelius right / TR POT COS II, Concordia seated left, holding patera, resting left elbow on cornucopiae set on base, CONCORD in exergue. RIC 436. RSC 1. Attractive rainbow-hued toning.
Aelius Caesar began life in around AD 104 as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, son of a distinguished senator who was consul in the year AD 106. Handsome and affable, Lucius entered public service in his 20s and rose steadily through the ladder of public offices until he attracted the attention of the Emperor Hadrian, who by the mid AD 130s was aging rapidly and searching for a suitable heir. Upon attaining the consulship in 136, Aelius was formally adopted by Hadrian and took the name Lucius Aelius Caesar, clearly marking him out as successor to the throne. Historians have long speculated as to why Hadrian chose the seemingly unimpressive Aelius, some even postulating that he was Hadrian's illegitimate son. However, Aelius may well have been far more competent than chroniclers of the time, who tended to be hostile toward Hadrian, allowed. Biographer Anthony Birley proposes another theory: Known to be in poor health, Aelius was intended mainly as a temporary "place holder" until Hadrian's true choice, the 15-year old Marcus Annius Verus, could come of age. In any case, the his elevation was duly celebrated with elaborate games and Hadrian even ordered the deaths of two potential rivals, his uncle Servianus and grand-nephew Fuscus, who were accused of plotting a coup. Aelius served another consulship in AD 137 and was granted the tribunican power, making him Hadrian's junior partner in government. He left for Pannonia that year to gain experience managing a province and make himself known to the military; however, the climate there was hard on his already frail constitution, and he returned to Rome in the winter having contracted tuberculosis. He fell seriously ill on New Year's Eve and died early on January 1, AD 138, prompting Hadrian to remark that he had "leaned against a tottering wall." Aelius' son, the future Lucius Verus, did eventually become co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, and his family name of Commodus was given to Marcus' own son and successor.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 200-280 USD