Commodus, as Augustus (AD 177-192). AV aureus (21mm, 7.32 gm, 11h). NGC Choice MS S 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 178. L•AVREL•COM-MODVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust of the youthful, beardless Commodus right, seen from behind / TR P III•IMP II COS•P•P, Castor standing facing, head left, nude but for chlamys and pileus, bridle in right hand, grounded reversed spear cradled in left arm; horse standing left behind, left foreleg raised. Calicó 2338 (same dies). RIC III (Marcus Aurelius) 648 var. (draped and cuirassed). Perfectly struck from fresh, high relief dies. Lightly toned surfaces with cartwheel luster. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 131 (30 May 2022), lot 48; Collection of a Perfectionist (Leu Numismatik, Auction 93, 10 May 2005), lot 42; privately purchased from Ratto (June 1960). Commodus, the last emperor of the Antonine Dynasty, is seen here at the age of 17 or 18. The reverse announces his Tribunician Power for the third time, the title of Imperator (victorious general) for the second time, the office of Consul, and the honorific Pater Patriae ("father of the fatherland"), all rather heady stuff for a youth who would normally just be making his first steps on the cursus honorum ("course of honor"). The hurried assignment of high office to Commodus surely reflects the desire of his father, Marcus Aurelius, to ensure a secure, stable succession in the wake of the abortive rebellion by Avidius Cassius in AD 176, which was predicated on the belief that Marcus was gravely ill and Commodus too young, or entirely unsuited, for office. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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