Unknown provincial commodus with Alexander as founder?

[helcaraxe]

I have to ask a question myself now:

This little Commodus is puzzling me very much.

AE16. 3.49 g.

The obverse ic clear so far, I can read ...KOMODOC... which makes clear the emperor at least.

But the obverse is quite difficult. There should be enough letters to find the city, but nothing seems to fit (my markings are just a guess).

The depictions might show Alexander - Heracles with either a diadem or a lion-skin.

Any help is highly appreciated.!

I have added fotos in different angles to help in reading the legend....

Kind regards and semper pax
helcaraxe

[helcaraxe]

Here is the reverse from a different angle...

[SRukke]

Probably Nicaea.

Here are a few Commodus with Alexander reverse coins on RPC online. You can probably narrow my search down more with the legends.

http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/search/ident/?c=&od_id-1=275&rd_b=or&rd_id-1=388&ri=&ri_ns=&m=b&d=&stype=ident&search=Search

[helcaraxe]

Thanks for your comment.

I have thought of Nicaea too, and that would fit as it came along with other Nicaean coins in a lot, but somehow I cannot fit the letters on the reverse into a legend that occurs on coins of Nicaea.

Semper pax
helcaraxe

[helvetica]

The legend on the reverse appears to end with NIKEWN which was not used by many cities - practically only
- STRATONIKEWN (Stratonikeia, Caria)
- QESSALONIKEWN (Thessalonica, Macedonia) and
- KAISAR GERMANIKEWN KO (Caesarea Germanica, Syria) which struck coins for e.g. Lucius Verus and Commodus.

The first letter of the legend looks like a theta or it could be a rounded epsilon or a C for a Stratonikeia legend.
But even then, the obverse legend would be a strange one without Commodus's titles preceding his name.
Such a reverse is not in any of my books under Stratonikeia or Thessalonica.

[helcaraxe]

Hi Dane, thanks a lot.

That is what is puzzling me too. No reverse type exept roughly that of Nikaia seems to fit. But the legend does not really fit in either of these possibilities...

 

Semper pax
helcaraxe

[helvetica]

I think I more or less found it for you. In Dahmen's "Alexander The Great On Coins", plate 13, no. 1. I wonder if it could be this one ?
The description is
AE17, 2.85 gr.
AV K KOMODOC ANTWNIN, laureate head of Commodus right
ALEXANDRON NIKAIEIC, diademed head of Alexander right.
Berlin museum, Var of RecGen 287

I scanned the image, sorry it's a bit blurred. I scanned it with my hand scanner and the image is very small in the book so the legends are not all that clear. Maybe the engraver was having a bad engraving day.
Dahmen does not list any coins of this type for Stratonikeia or Thessalonica, at least the towns are not listed in the indexes.

Is it any help ?

[Mark Fox]

Dear Board,

This was quite a surprise for me.  I kept picking at the reverse inscription, and eventually came across ΘΗΣΕΑ as a possibility for the first segment, which lead me to this coin:

http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6026/

See also:
http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/8438/
http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.100.42178

It appears that the second part of the inscription on Helcaraxe's coin contains an unrecorded variation of the ethnic for this coin type.  It probably can be rendered ΝΙΚΑΕΙΣ(sic) as on this Nicaean issue featuring Theseus:
 
http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6027/

It just goes to show that things often are not what they seem to be in numismatics!  A nice little twilight zone moment for everyone here.  Hope this helps.


Best regards,

Mark Fox
Michigan

[helcaraxe]

@helvetica:
I thought of that possibility too, but the numbers of letters of the reverse legend are to few to fit any form of Alexanders name in,  even if we assume an unusual spelling of the ethnic.

@Mark:

I think you hit the mark (please forgive me the little joke ;-)) as near as possible.

Indeed it seems to be this peculiar ethnic, with at least leaves it to be a founder coin (with Theseus instead of Alexander). The legend ΘΗΣΕΑ ΝΙΚAΕΙΣ, seems indeed very similar to your large coin and the underlined A does look in that coin rather like an E too (see the large image), with confused my on my coin very much.

Again, thank you very much!

Semper pax
helcaraxe