A Fantastic Sestertius with an old Sydenham Provenance

[Curtisimo]

Roman Empire
Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius 
AE Sestertius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 161-176
(32.0 mm, 23.73 g)
Obv.: FAVSTINA – AVGVSTA Draped bust r. 
Rev.: SAECVLI FELICIT / S – C The infants Commodus and Antoninus seated facing one another on pulvinar. 
Ref.: C 193. BMC M. Aurelius 936. RIC M. Aurelius 1665.
Ex Edward Allen Sydenham Collection (1873-1948), Hess (Luzern) Auction 218, lot 444 (August 2, 1933); Ex Collection of a Mentor (George E. Muller, Director of ancient coins at Spink from 1953-1982) 

The Sydenham Collection
I haven’t added many coins to my collection this year but I was very happy to win this coin as one of the few. It comes from the Edward Allen Sydenham collection. Sydenham spent his career in the Church of England and retired in 1942. He was President of the Royal Numismatic Society from 1937 to 1942. He was most well known to me from his work on RIC, including the RIC vol. III that covers this coin. He also wrote many other numismatic works. Forvm has a great biography of him that you can find here.

This photograph shows Sydenham and his wife Ada from sometime between 1911 and 1914. (Source: The Forvm page linked above.)

The Reverse Type
I’ve been after this reverse type for quite some time. I was targeting a silver example but when I saw this coin I knew this was the example I wanted. It shows Commodus and his twin brother Antoninus. Antoninus died in AD 165 at the age of about 3 or 4. This coin of Commodus is part of a small sub-collection of mine that tracks his appearance on coins from cradle to grave, starting with my new Sestertius. My other examples are below.

Commodus at about age 17

Commodus at about age 26

Just before his death in AD 192 at age 31

Now I only lack a divi series Commodus to complete a small sub-collection.

Please show your:

• Commodus Coins
• Sydenham Coins
• Coins showing twins 
• Coins showing babies 
• Coins showing an emperor aging through time

Edited November 10 by Curtisimo

[CPK]

Fantastic indeed! That's a lovely coin and a top-notch provenance. Congrats!

I also really like your other Commodus coins, especially the portrait on the early sestertius. I've been on the lookout for a quality Commodus denarius for awhile now, but they are hard to find (or maybe I'm just too picky.)

I do have this one, which also boasts an impressive provenance: if you have the latest edition of David Sear's Roman Coins and their Values (Vol. II), turn to page 411 and you'll see this coin.

COMMODUS, AD 180-192
AE As (24.84mm, 7.59g, 11h)
Struck AD 185. Rome mint
Obverse: M COMM ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT, laureate head of Commodus right
Reverse: VOT SVSC DEC P M TR P X IMP VII, Commodus, togate, standing left, sacrificing over tripod-altar; COS IIII P P in exergue, S C across fields
References: RIC - , BMC 566, RCV 5897 (this coin illustrated)
This coin illustrated on wildwinds.com. From the Jeff Clark VOTA Collection.
An extremely rare type, with a fine portrait and rich emerald patina. This coin is the illustrated plate coin in David R. Sear's popular reference series Roman Coins and Their Values (Vol. II, p. 411)

[DonnaML]

A wonderful coin with a fantastic provenance, @Curtisimo!

"Twins" would technically include coins showing Romulus & Remus with the she-wolf, as well as coins depicting the Dioscuri  -- together, a very broad category! -- so I will limit myself to my three coins depicting Commodus and his twin brother as infants: one denarius, one As or dupondius, and one sestertius.

Faustina II [Junior] (wife of Marcus Aurelius & daughter of Antoninus Pius), AE As or orichalcum Dupondius, Rome Mint, 161 AD. Obv. Draped bust right, hair in chignon behind, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / Rev. Two infant boys seated on draped throne (pulvinar), each raising an arm towards the other, with hands touching, SAECVLI FELICIT; S - C across fields. RIC III [Marcus Aurelius] 1666, BMCRE IV Marcus Aurelius 991, Cohen 194, RCV II 5302, Dinsdale 006660 [variety without stars above boys’ heads] [Dinsdale, Paul H., The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus, Ch. 4, Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (2020) at p. 69; photo at p. 75 (see http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04 - Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (med_res).pdf)]. 25 mm., 11.5 g. Purchased from Incitatus Coins (Steve McBride), St. Johns, NL, Canada, May 2022.*

*The two infant boys are Faustina II’s twin sons b. 31 Aug 161 AD: Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (the older twin, d. 165 AD) and Commodus, the ninth and tenth children of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina II.

Faustina II [Junior] (wife of Marcus Aurelius & daughter of Antoninus Pius), AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 161 AD. Obv. Draped bust right, hair in chignon behind, wearing stephane, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / Rev. Two infant boys seated on draped throne (pulvinar), each raising an arm towards the other, with hands touching [compass dot between them], SAECVLI FELICIT. RIC III [Marcus Aurelius] 712, RSC II 191 [variety without stars above boys’ heads], Sear RCV II 5260 (ill.), BMCRE IV Marcus Aurelius 139, Dinsdale 005600(a) [Dinsdale, Paul H., The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus, Ch. 4, Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (2020) at p. 57; photo at p. 62 (see http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04 - Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (med_res).pdf)]. 17.5 mm., 3.39 g., 12h. [Same footnote as preceding coin.] 

Faustina II (wife of Marcus Aurelius & daughter of Antoninus Pius), AE Sestertius, ca. 161 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust right, low chignon at back of head, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA / Rev. Felicitas (or Faustina as Fecunditas) standing left, between four girls (two standing at each side), holding two infants in her arms, each with a star over its head (representing the Dioscuri), TEMPOR FELIC [-IC almost entirely worn off], S - C across fields. RIC III 1673 (at p. 147), var. [no stars above infants’ heads]; BMCRE MA 949 var [same]; Cohen 222; Dinsdale 006760 & n. 1 [Dinsdale, Paul H., The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus, Ch. 4, Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Marcus/04 - Faustina II - Undated, 158-176 (med_res).pdf) at p. 70] (“Minor rev. variation: sometimes each infant held in arms has star above head”). 31 mm., 24 gm. Purchased from Victor’s Imperial Coins, March 2021. Ex. CNG E-Auction 476, 9/09/2020, part of Lot 762; ex. BLS Collection.*

 

*This variation of RIC III 1673 (with stars above the two infants’ heads) is unlisted in RIC or BMCRE, and appears to be mentioned only in the footnote to Dinsdale 006760. (RIC III 1677 does have stars above the infants’ heads, but is an as, not a sestertius.)  Of the 14 other examples found on acsearch of RIC 1673 and 1674 (the same design as 1673 but with a diadem on Faustina’s head; see Sear RCV II 5284), only one other example (of RIC 1673) has the stars above the infants’ heads. See https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=6215913 (Numismatik Naumann, Auction 80, Lot 568, 4 Aug 2019). 

The four girls standing on either side of Felicitas on the reverse of this type have been identified as Marcus Aurelius’s and Faustina II’s daughters Annia Faustina (a/k/a Faustina III), Lucilla, Fadilla, and Cornificia -- the last of whom was born in 160 AD. The two infants held in her arms have been identified as Faustina II’s twin sons b. 31 Aug 161 AD: Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (the older twin, d. 165 AD) and Commodus, the ninth and tenth children of the royal couple. See Foss, Roman Historical Coins.

Here are a couple of coins issued by Commodus himself, one at age 20 and the other at age 25:

Commodus (son of Marcus Aurelius), AR Denarius 181 AD. Obv. Laureate head right, M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG/ Rev. Pax standing left, holding branch & cornucopiae, TR P VI IMP IIII COS III P P. RIC III 17, RSC II 806. 17 mm., 3.15 g.

Commodus (son of Marcus Aurelius), AE (Orichalcum) Sestertius, AD 186, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, M COMMODVS ANT P FELIX AVG BRIT / Rev. Concordia, draped, standing front, head to left, holding vertical standard with legionary eagle in each hand, P M TR P XI IMP VII CO[S V PP] (around), S - C across fields; in exergue, CONC MIL (for CONCORDIA MILITVM, “[dedicated to] harmony with the soldiers”; see Numiswiki at https://tinyurl.com/mr9ta53k). RIC III Commodus 465(A), BMCRE IV Commodus 576 (1^st ed. 1940) (ill. Pl. 106, no. 8 [rev. only]), Sear RCV II 5738, cf. Cohen 55 corr. (COS V not IIII as Cohen states). 29 mm., 20.19 g., 12 h. [Deep cut or flaw on obv. across emperor’s neck.] Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 26, 11 July 2023, Lot 4520 [purchase canceled & refund obtained 20 Sep 2023, repurchased 6 Oct 2023], from Collection of Jens Georg Feierabend, Hamburg, Germany; ex Roma E-Auction 58, 20 June 2019, Lot 1137, Roma E-Auction 52, 10 January 2019, Lot 853, and Roma E-Auction 46, 5 June 2018, Lot 663.* 

*Accompanied by David R. Sear A.C.C.S. [Ancient Coin Certification Service] Certificate of Authenticity dated April 2, 2020, issued to Jens Georg Feierabend, No. 981CR/RI/E/O, grading coin as “a strong VF with light brown patina, struck on a typical short flan and with deep cut across emperor’s neck,” and stating, among other things, “This orichalcum sestertius, worth one-quarter of the silver denarius, was struck in the early  months of AD 186 following the downfall of the praetorian prefect Perennis and the rise of his rival Cleander. There was some military unrest at this time and the ‘war of the deserters’ in Gaul and Spain had to be put down by the future emperor Pescennius Niger. The reverse of this issue appeals to ‘the harmony of the soldiers’ (concordia militum) at a time of uncertainty when the emperor was clearly at pains to court the support of the armed forces. It is tempting to see in the deep slash across Commodus’ neck an expression of hatred for the regime, possibly following the emperor’s murder.”

Edited November 10 by DonnaML

[expat]

A beautiful sestertius @Curtisimo fits well into your mini set. Only coin I can contribute is an AR of Commodus with an emaciated Hercules

Commodus, AR Denarius, 187-188 AD. M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, laureate head right / P M TR P XIII IMP VIII COS V P P, Hercules naked, standing front, holding patera and club. RSC 534; RIC 162. 17 mm, 2,91 g

[Roman Collector]

That's lovely, @Curtisimo, and what a provenance! I think the double-struck reverse is interesting, too. 

Here's my humbler specimen of the stephaned bust variety.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Great new addition @Curtisimo and a wonderful provenance.

[ambr0zie]

Extraordinary coin. Makes us thinks a little about what have these coins seen in thousands of years, how many hands kept them, some of them belonging to very imporrtant people. 

I have the dupondius variety (described as a sestertius in the auction - I quickly understood this is incorrect but it was not a major problem for me)

27 mm, 13,81 g.
Faustina II 147-175. Ӕ dupondius. Rome. After 31st of August 161 AD.
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bust of Faustina II, draped, hair elaborately waved in nearly vertical lines and fastened in a low chignon at back of head, down cheek, curls, right / SAECVLI FELICIT S C, pulvinar (throne), draped and ornamented, on which are two baby boys, Commodus and Antoninus, seated face to face, with stars above their heads.
BMC 991; Cohen 194; RIC 1666 (as); RCV 5302.

Another coin celebrating the exact same event - the birth of Commodus and Antoninus 

17 mm, 3,13 g.
Faustina II 147-175. AR denarius. Rome. After 31st of August 161 AD.
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right / TEMPOR FELIC, female figure, standing left, holding an infant in each arm; at either side, two children standing.
RIC 719; BMC 156-157; RSC 221; RCV 5263; CRE 179; MIR 31-4/10a.

One from year 160

17 mm, 3,16 g.
Faustina II 147-175. AR denarius. Rome. Struck December 160.
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, hair in chignon behind / FECVND AVGVSTAE, Faustina as Fecunditas, standing front, head left, holding infant in each arm, two other young children standing beside her to left and right, holding onto her gown.
RIC III Marcus Aurelius 676; RSC II 95; Sear RCV II 5251; BMCRE 89.

A sestertius with Faustina and children 

32,9 mm, 23,53 g.
Faustina II. Augusta 147-175. Ӕ sestertius. Rome. 161-176.
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / FECVND AVGVSTAE, Fecunditas holding child on each arm, two more children standing right and left; S-C across fields.
RIC 1635 (Aurelius); Banti 56; BMCRE 902 (Aurelius).

And another denarius with Faustina and just one child 

17,7 mm, 3,6 g.
Faustina II. Augusta 147-175. AR denarius. Rome. 161-176.
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, hair waved with two braided bands / FECVNDITAS, Fecunditas standing right, holding sceptre and nude male child.
BMC 91; C. 99; RIC 677; RSC 99.

I am also a fan of these curious coins where Commodus thinks he's Heracles, one was mandatory 

22,9 mm, 10,26 g.
Commodus 180-192 AD. Ӕ as. Rome. 192 AD.
L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL, head of Commodus wearing lion skin, right / HERCVL ROMAN AVGV SC, legend flanking club, all within laurel-wreath.
RIC III 644; C. 193; BMC 722.

1-2 years before 

17 mm, 2,80 g.
Commodus 180-192 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 190-191 AD.
M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT P P, laureate head right / APOL PAL P M TR P XVI COS VI, Apollo standing facing, head to right, holding plectrum and lyre resting on column.
RIC III 218; BMCRE 292; RSC 25.

 

Same period 

19 mm, 2,22 g.
Commodus 180-192 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 190 AD.
M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT P P, head of Commodus, laureate, right / TEMP FELIC P M TR P XV COS VI, winged caduceus between crossed cornucopiae.
RIC III Commodus 209; RSC 719; BMC 283.

A little back in time:

17 mm, 3,31 g.
Commodus 180-192. AR denarius. Rome. 187-188.
M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, head of Commodus, laureate, right / P M TR P XIII IMP VIII COS V P P, Salus, draped, seated left on low seat, feeding from patera in right hand snake coiled round altar.
RIC III Commodus 169; RSC 544.

Again a little back in time 

17,9 mm, 2,66 g.
Commodus 180-192. AR denarius. Rome. 186 AD.
M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, laureate head of Commodus right / FID EXERC P M TR P XI IMP VII COS V P P, Commodus standing, left on platform, three soldiers standing, right holding legionary eagles.
RIC II 130d; RSC 143.

 

Same period, celebrating an event that is unclear - probably Commodus escapted from a big threat/accident 

19 mm, 2,96 g.
Commodus 180-192. AR denarius. Rome. 186-189.
M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT, laureate bust to right / FORTVNAE MANENTI, Fortuna seated to left, holding cornucopiae and rudder with left hand and restraining horse by the bridle with right; C V P P in exergue.
RIC III 191a; BMCRE 231; RSC 168a.

[Qcumbor]

Excellent addition and provenance @Curtisimo

16 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

Now I only lack a divi series Commodus to complete a small sub-collection.

I can't but encourage you in that direction my friend

Q