Ancients: Commodus, as Augustus (AD 177-192). AE bimetallic medallion (40mm, 56.90 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. ...

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Phenomenal Fine Style Bimetallic Commodus Medallion

Commodus, as Augustus (AD 177-192). AE bimetallic medallion (40mm, 56.90 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 185. M COMMODVS ANTO-NINVS AVG PIVS BRIT, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Commodus right, seen from behind / P M TR P X-IMP VII COS IIII PP, Hercules, nude, standing facing, club and lion skin in left hand, crowning himself with a wreath in right hand; olive tree in left field with bow and quiver hanging from branch, lit altar in right field. Gnecchi p. 60, 79 and pl. 83, 6. BMC Medallion p. 24, 15 and pl. 30, 2. To quote Anton Tkalec from his 2008 catalog, "One of the finest Medallion I ever seen, maybe the finest. Quality and beauty of the medallion cannot be described with words."

From the Mirabilis Collection. Ex Tkalec, Auction (29 February 2008), lot 482 (realized 95,000 CHF hammer).

Although relatively rare today, the mint in Rome during the Antonine Era was producing on a regular basis stunning bimetallic works of art, to be gifted to foreign dignitaries and possibly as awards of merit. Commodus took full advantage of this impressive medium, displaying both incredible portraiture on the obverse and a host of themes on the reverse to promote himself, over time showcasing his full descent into megalomania.

Commodus was so convinced of his status of demigod that he insisted in AD 190 the Roman calendar be renamed with each month taking on a part of his full name and title - Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Augustus Herculeus Romanus Exsuperatorius Amazonius Invictus Felix Pius. After the fire which destroyed a large section of Rome shortly thereafter, Commodus had it rebuilt and rededicated the city as Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. The citizens were then to be called Commodiani, the Senate was renamed Senatus Commodianus Fortunatus and all of the legions were to replace their names with Commodiana.

Commodus' megalomania entered its terminal phase in AD 192. Divested of his powerful chamberlain Cleander, he gave full vent to his obsession with Hercules and pretensions to godhead. Certain issues minted in AD 191-192 depict Commodus in the guide of Hercules, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion, in honor "To the Roman Hercules." The famous marble portrait bust found in the underground chambers of Horti Lamiani, now on display in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, depicts him in the same guise, and he portrayed the demigod during a series of spectacles in the Colosseum, where he dispatched hundreds of animals in imitation of Hercules' Twelve Labors. While the populace seems to have enjoyed these antics, the Roman aristocracy was horrified and a conspiracy took root over the course of the year that culminated in the emperor's assassination on New Year's Eve, AD 192.

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