Commodus augustus, 177 – 192. Aureus 191-192, AV 21 mm, 7.17 g. L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL Head r., wearing lion skin headdress. Rev. HER – CVL / RO – MAN / AV – GV at sides of club. All within wreath. C 188. BMC 339 note. RIC 251. Calicò 2259. Extremely rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, possibly the finest specimen in private hands. A very impressive portrait of superb style struck in high relief. Virtually as struck and amost FdcGraded AU*, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, NGC photo certificate number 8494937-002 Ex Künker sale 419, 2025, 493. Few Roman coins excite as much commentary as those of Commodus which show him possessed of Hercules. Not only do they present an extraordinary image, but they offer incontrovertible support to the literary record. The reports of Commodus’ megalomania and infatuation with Hercules are so alarming and fanciful that if the numismatic record was not there to confirm, modern historians would almost certainly regard the literary record as an absurd version of affairs, much in the way reports of Tiberius’ depraved behaviour on Capri are considered to be callous exaggerations. Faced with such rich and diverse evidence, there can be no question that late in his life Commodus believed Hercules was his divine patron. Indeed, he worshipped the demigod so intensely that he renamed the month of September after him, and he eventually came to believe himself an incarnation of the mythological hero. The Herculian imagery on this famous coin type is arresting. Though the concept of an emperor donning a lion’s scalp was novel to coinage, it would have compared favourably to the countless images throughout the empire of Hercules in his mature, bearded incarnation. The reverse depicts familiar instruments of the hero: the club, bow, and quiver with arrows. By tradition, Hercules had fashioned his knotted club from a wild olive tree that he tore from the soil of Mount Helicon and subsequently used to kill the lion of Cithaeron when he was only 18 years old. Probably the most familiar account of his bow and arrows was his shooting of the Stymphalian birds while fulfilling his sixth labour. The reverse inscription HERCVL ROMAN AVG (‘to the August Roman Hercules’) makes the coin all the more interesting, especially when it is put into context with those of contemporary coins inscribed HERCVLI COMMODO AVG, which amounts to a dedication ‘to Hercules Commodus Augustus’. Please find here the video of the coin