I think the
Commodus medallion in question, about to be auctioned by
Bernardi and
Lanz in NYC, is authentic, but extensively
tooled.
The
obverse die is well known on authentic pieces, for example
Gnecchi pl. 83.5, but on that die Commodus'
bust was draped only. On the
Lanz piece, the tooler has added all the detail of the
cuirass and shoulder flaps below the clasp on the emperor's right shoulder.
The
reverse type has been even more extensively reworked. Hercules' "six-pack abs" are a modern creation,
his facial features too, as Byzcoll correctly pointed out. The ears, eyes, snout of
his lionskin, hanging down beside the
altar, are an invention of the tooler; on genuine pieces the lionskin ends shortly below Hercules' knee.
His quiver hanging in the tree has been transformed into a thick branch and
his bow, just above the quiver, has been
tooled away. I suspect that this die started as the same as
Gnecchi pl. 83.5, in which case a major change has also been made in the relationship between Hercules'
head and club and the title
IMP VII in the
legend. That is the same
reverse die that was used for the second, third, and fourth medallions shown above. I don't exclude, however, that it could be a new
reverse die, so far unknown to me in its untooled state.
In my opinion $50,000 is not
cheap, but rather far too much
money for such an extensively remade piece!