Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Commodus augustus, 177 – 192.
Aureus 177, AV 7.29 g. IMP L AVREL COMM – ODVS AVG GERM SARM Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. TR P II – COS P P Two captives seated l. and r. at foot of trophy; in exergue, DE SARM. C 98. BMC M. Aurelius 758 and pl. 69, 3 (these dies). RIC M. Aurelius 634. Calicó 2239.
Very rare and possibly the finest specimen known of this intriguing issue.
Perfectly struck and centred on a full flan and with a lovely light
reddish tone, virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 100, 2017, 536.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 5/5, NCG certification number 6558860-007
This aureus celebrates Roman victories on the empire's northern frontier in a series of wars known as the Bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum. These annual confrontations demanded the presence of the emperor Marcus Aurelius while his young son Commodus remained in Rome, largely unaffected. His later experiences at his father's side on the battlefront may have convinced Commodus to entrust such campaigns to his generals while he remained in Rome to enjoy the comforts of his palace and the spectacles of the circus and the Colosseum. When this aureus was struck in 177, Commodus had just been raised from the rank of Caesar to co-Augustus with his father, though he had not yet personally witnessed the terrors of war on the Rhine and Danube; that would be reserved until 178, when the heir-apparent joined his father to help wage the second Marcomannic War. Even without battle experience, Commodus none the less shared in his father's hard-earned titles of Germanicus and Sarmaticus, both of which are included in his inscription. The reverse relates to these campaigns with the inscription DE SARM beneath a military trophy flanked by two bound and mourning captives. Many other types celebrate Roman victories in this theatre, and they are the centrepiece of coin propaganda of the era. Considering these wars were not only a source of financial strain, but annually cost the lives of young Romans, it was essential for the imperial family to show success in the form of attractive coin types with bound barbarians, trophies, and piles of captured shields, weapons, and trumpets.
Aureus 177, AV 7.29 g. IMP L AVREL COMM – ODVS AVG GERM SARM Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. TR P II – COS P P Two captives seated l. and r. at foot of trophy; in exergue, DE SARM. C 98. BMC M. Aurelius 758 and pl. 69, 3 (these dies). RIC M. Aurelius 634. Calicó 2239.
Very rare and possibly the finest specimen known of this intriguing issue.
Perfectly struck and centred on a full flan and with a lovely light
reddish tone, virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 100, 2017, 536.
Graded Ch AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 5/5, NCG certification number 6558860-007
This aureus celebrates Roman victories on the empire's northern frontier in a series of wars known as the Bellum Germanicum et Sarmaticum. These annual confrontations demanded the presence of the emperor Marcus Aurelius while his young son Commodus remained in Rome, largely unaffected. His later experiences at his father's side on the battlefront may have convinced Commodus to entrust such campaigns to his generals while he remained in Rome to enjoy the comforts of his palace and the spectacles of the circus and the Colosseum. When this aureus was struck in 177, Commodus had just been raised from the rank of Caesar to co-Augustus with his father, though he had not yet personally witnessed the terrors of war on the Rhine and Danube; that would be reserved until 178, when the heir-apparent joined his father to help wage the second Marcomannic War. Even without battle experience, Commodus none the less shared in his father's hard-earned titles of Germanicus and Sarmaticus, both of which are included in his inscription. The reverse relates to these campaigns with the inscription DE SARM beneath a military trophy flanked by two bound and mourning captives. Many other types celebrate Roman victories in this theatre, and they are the centrepiece of coin propaganda of the era. Considering these wars were not only a source of financial strain, but annually cost the lives of young Romans, it was essential for the imperial family to show success in the form of attractive coin types with bound barbarians, trophies, and piles of captured shields, weapons, and trumpets.