Watch List notes:

Commodus, 177-192. Denarius (Silver, 17 mm, 2.34 g, 6 h), Rome, 189. M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT P P Laureate head of Commodus to right. Rev. MART PAC P M TR P XIIII COS V DES VI Mars standing facing, turned slightly to the left and with his head to left, nude but for his helmet and cloak over his shoulders, holding olive branch in his right hand and long reversed spear with his left. BMC 266. Cohen 351. RIC 188. An unusually well-struck and well-preserved example, nicely toned. Good extremely fine.



Rarely can denarii of Commodus be found in such uniformly fine condition: not only are the reverses either lightly struck or from worn dies, but the obverses are also commonly imperfect as well. This must have been caused by changes in the organization of the mint in Rome. The present example was carefully struck from a pair of fresh dies, thus making it a truly rare coin!