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XXI
This reverse legend is from the reverse of sestertius of Commodus minted at Rome, AD 190: RIC III 560, Cohen 39 (60 fr.), BMCRE IV 643.
Obverse: M COMMOD ANT P FE-LIX AVG [BRIT P P], laureate head right
Reverse: COLLANCOM PM TR P XV IMP VIII (around), COS VI / S C (in exergue), Commodus, veiled, as priest, ploughing right with two oxen.
The letters COL together with the depiction of the ritual ploughing of the furrow marking out a new foundation, refer to establishing a colony (COLonia). COL is followed by the name of the colony in this case: LANCOM, where evidently COM stands for COMmodiana. The critical part is formed by the three letters LAN.
The traditional explanation of the reverse legend can be found in the below in the Dictionary of Roman Coins. The explanation in the Dictionary is based on Eckhel (1796), reading the legend abbreviated COL.L.AN.COM, referring to the refounding of Rome under its new name: COLonia Lucia ANtoniniana COMmodiana. Cohen follows this, as well as RIC and BM although they substitute ANtoniniana by ANnia.
Curtis Clay noted on the Classical Numismatics Discussion Board, that Chantraine in 1971, following a suggestion of Renier in 1872, proposed an alternative explanation expanding the legend COL·LAN·COM to COLonia LANuvina COMmodiana. The coin no longer refers to the refounding of Rome but to that of Lanuvium, the place of birth of Commodus, elevating it from municipium to the rank of colony.
The question remains why Eckhel, who himself noted that the praenomen of Lucia given to Rome was strange at a time when Commodus used that of Marcus, insisted expanding the legend as he did, unless he saw the legend actually abbreviated like that on a specimen. Here, we find a sestertius which, even though it has part of the legend off the flan, shows dots between parts of the legend: COL·L·AN... The first dot can clearly be seen. Perhaps the condition of this specimen is not good enough to ascertain that there is also a second dot after the second L but it appears to be so. In any case, this specimen shows that a die existed with dots indicating how the abbreviations on the reverse should be read. Suffice to find a picture of another surviving sestertius from that die...