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Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D.
The "ship of state," famously expounded by Plato in the Republic, likens the governance of a state to the command of a vessel. The Romans believed that Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune, after deserting the Persians and Assyrians, saw Alexander perish as she flew over Syria and Egypt, and at last arriving on Mount Palatine, cast aside her wings to live in Rome forever. This coin was dedicated to Fortuna, depicting holding a rudder, for steering the Roman ship of state to prosperity, symbolized by the cornucopia.RB98694. Orichalcum sestertius, RIC I 351 (S); Hunter II 99; BMCRE IV p. 782, *; Cohen III -; SRCV II -, F, green patina, irregular squared flan, scratches, porosity, legends mostly off flan or unstruck, flan cracks, Rome mint, weight 16.467g, maximum diameter 29.8mm, die axis 180o, Dec 182 - Dec 183 A.D.; obverse M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS, laureate head right; reverse TRP VIII IMP V COS IIII P P, Fortuna standing slightly left, head left, rudder on globe held by tiller in right hand, cornucopia in left hand, S - C (senatus consulto) flanking low across field; RIC lists this type only as scarce, but this is the first specimen we have handled, there is only one sale of this type recorded on Coin Archives for the last two decades, and both RIC and BMC refer to only one specimen from the Stiavelli Sale in 1908!; rare; SOLD
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