Obverse: M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT PP;
Laureate Bust of the Emperor Facing Right
Reverse: MART PAC PM TR P XIIII COS V DES VI
PP; Mars, Standing to the Left, Holding a Branch
and a Sceptre
Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on
August 31, 161 A.D. to the Emperor Marcus
Aurelius and Faustina Junior. Of their thirteen
children, he was the only boy to survive early
childhood, thus making him the logical heir to
the throne. He was appointed as Caesar at the
age of five and was officially presented to the
army at the age of twelve in 173 A.D. Two years
later, young Commodus was named Princeps
Ivventis and coopted in the college of priests.
Next, he accompanied his father on a victorious
military campaign against the Germans and the
Sarmatians. In 177 A.D., the title of Augustus
was bestowed upon him and he was lofted to the
position of co-ruler alongside his father. That
same year, he was married to Crispina, the
daughter of one of the dutiful generals on the
Sarmatian campaign. The next year, Commodus
embarked upon another German campaign that
ended with a favorable peace shortly after his
father’s death in 180 A.D. Soon afterward, a
Senatorial plot was uncovered and suppressed in
182 A.D. Implicated in the conspiracy were both
his wife Crispina and his sister Lucilla, both of
whom would be exiled to Capri. Ten years later,
on December 31, 192 A.D., Commodus was
murdered.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. This coin is a memorial an
ancient Emperor passed from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation that still appears as vibrant today as
the day it was struck.
- (C.5850)
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