Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus
Reign: Commodus
Mint: Rome
Date: 186/187 AD
Nominal: Denarius
Material: Silver
Diameter: 18mm
Weight: 3.04g
Reference: RIC III Commodus 155
OCRE Online: https://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.com.155_denarius
Rare: R1
Provenance: MDC Monnaies de Collection, Monaco (Auction 4, Lot 51)
Pedigree: –
Obverse: Head of Commodus, laureate, right
Inscription: M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT
Translation: Marcus Commodus Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus Britannicus
Translation: Marcus Commodus Antoninus, the pious, the fortunate, Augustus, conqueror of the Britons
Reverse: Nobilitas, draped, standing right, holding sceptre in right hand and stattuette of Minerva in extended left hand
Inscription: NOBILIT AVG P M TR P XII IMP VIII COS V P P
Translation: Nobilitas Augusti, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate Duodecima, Imperator, Octavum, Consul Quintum, Pater Patriae
Translation: The nobility of the Augustus. High priest, holder of tribunician power for the twelfth time, Imperator for the eighth time, consul for the fifth time, father of the nation
Comment: New in Roman coinage of the Principate is the personification of Nobilitas (…). The type is to be understood as a reference to Commodus’ distinguished ancestry – he was the first Roman ruler born in purple and, from a purely legal point of view, could trace his ancestry back to Nerva. Possibly this type, which emphasises the nobilitas of Commodus, echoes the highly treacherous plans of Perennis, who – at least according to the official version – wanted to help his son to the imperial throne, but also the uprisings of the soldiers in Britain, who wanted to acclaim Priscus and Pertinax as emperor (M. R. Kaiser-Raiß, Die stadtrömische Münzprägung während der Alleinherrschaft des Commodus, Frankfurt am Main 1980, S. 60). Mention should also be made of contemporary reports describing Faustina’s infidelity in her marriage to Marcus Aurelius. Gossip stories report a preference for gladiators and sailors as lovers. Thus Commodus is said to have been an illegitimate son of Faustina and thus Marcus Aurelius not his biological father. These historically unproven rumours persisted into Commodus’ reign. This could also have been a motive for invoking the noble imperial lineage.