Description
Denomination: Silver denarius
Period: Roman imperial
Date: AD 189
Origin: Rome mint
Condition: VF+ with great portrait
Obverse: Laureate head right. M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT (notice the reference to Britain)
Reverse: Jupitar standing left. holding thunderbolt and sceptre. CVPP in exergue. OPTIME MAXIME
Size and Weight: 18mm. 2.77g
References: RIC 192. S5664
Features and Provenance: Commodus was the first emperor to be born ‘in the purple.’ that is. during his father’s reign; his father being the last ‘good emperor.’ Marcus Aurelius.
He ruled jointly with his father until Marcus’s death in AD180. leaving the 18 year old as sole emperor. He then proceeded to devalue the currency by decreasing the amount of silver in the denarius. His inability to rule effectively continued. and one commentator of the time remarked “He has turned a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust.” In addition to his ineptitude. he was also a deluded narcissist. declaring himself the new Romulus and renamed Rome after himself.
He also believed himself to be the reincarnation of Hercules and took to the arena. this was considered disgusting at the time. He is known to have killed 100 lions in a day and many gladiators and of course all had to lose. As he descended more into the realms of madness. conspiracies to assassinate him were rife and they finally caught up with him in 192. Our coin comes from this year and depicts the emperor dressed as Hercules.
Condition Summary. This varies with the age of coin and there are grades between
Uncirculated (U). As struck with no traces of wear
Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of legend etc present. visible and clear
Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of legend etc present. but maybe worn
Fine (F). Wear on the coin and parts of legend etc may be missing or not visible
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