Crispina, Aureus, 178-188
Rome - Gold - MS(63) - Calicó:2377e - RIC:287
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Bust of Bruttia Crispina, draped, hair in round coil at back, right.
Venus, draped, seated left, holding Victory in extended right hand and sceptre in left hand; under seat, dove left.
RIC III Commodus 287. In an absolutely stunning state of preservation! To be considered as almost fdc! This absolutely splendid aureus has been perfectly preserved over time, allowing us to admire the superb engraving of the details. There is a slight striking defect, with the grenetis on both sides largely flattened. However, this has not altered the captions or the central engravings. The portrait, depicting the empress Bruttia Crispina with her hair in a large bun at the back of her head. This hairstyle served as a model for all the women of Roman high society, who wanted to get as close as possible to the model spread by the portrait of the empress. On the reverse, a superb representation of Venus, under her epiclesis "Felix", the Lucky One, combining her attribute with the ones of the goddess Fortuna. Her representation is in perfect harmony with her attributes: she is the one who brings Victory, as shown by her outstretched hand brandishing a small Victory. Also a symbol of Love, she is associated with the dove beneath her throne. Moreover, at the end of the Republic, powerful men such as Sylla, Pompey and Caesar made themselves the goddess's favourites and protégés. Augustus took up this theme by placing his dynasty under the protection of the goddess. It would seem that imperial families have maintained this tradition of associating Venus with the protection of members of the dynasty, such as the empress here. In this case, the empress is associated with the goddess of love, the protector of the imperial family and also the bringer of victory for the emperor and, by extension, for Rome. This magnificent portrait is the portrait of Bruttia Crispina, who married the emperor Commodus in 178, at the age of 13, until 188, when she was repudiated and exiled to the island of Capri, off the coast of present-day Italy, before being assassinated there by order of the emperor in 191. She came from the highest nobility in Rome and was the daughter of Caius Bruttius Praesens, a Roman politician very close to the emperors who preceded Commodus. Her grandfather was consul and colleague of the emperor Antoninus Pius, which gave his family the status of a Patrician family shortly afterwards. His father was also consul in 153, before being designated proconsul of Africa in 166/167. Her father's influence and proximity to Commodus' father, Marcus Aurelius, led to this marriage. This closeness was also reflected in the fact that he accompanied the emperor on his campaign against the Marcomanni and received military honours at the end of the campaign. Shortly afterwards, in 180, he was consul for a second time, having been designated to the position in 178, at the same time as the marriage between Commodus and Crispina. The marriage between Crispina and Commodus only lasted until 188, and no one knows why. Two explanations have been put forward, firstly that of a sterile marriage, which would have led to this exile, before she was assassinated. The exile is also thought to have been due to the fall of Marcus Aurelius Cleander, an extremely highly placed freedman, chamberlain and favourite of Commodus. From 182 onwards, this man was high enough in the hierarchy to find himself in a position to have the former chamberlain and favourite of Commodus eliminated and to take his place. After 184, his influence was such that he had the then Prefect of the Praetorium executed in order to have him replaced. At the same time, he sold the highest administrative and political offices to the highest bidder, particularly the members of the Roman army, by giving them entrances and seats in the Senate. He went so far that in 188 he took command of Rome's Praetorian Guard after eliminating the new Prefect of the Praetorium. His downfall and death in 190 came shortly before the death of Bruttia Crispina, and their deaths may well have been linked to their positions in the highest circles of the empire and in the close circle of Commodus.
CRISPINA AVGVSTA
VENVS FELIX
7.3 gr
Gold
Although nowadays gold enjoys a reputation as the king of precious metals, that was not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was widely considered to be superior. However, over the course of time, it has established itself as the prince of money, even though it frequently vies with silver for the top spot as the standard.
Nevertheless, there are other metals which appear to be even more precious than this duo, take for example rhodium and platinum. That is certain. Yet, if the ore is not as available, how can money be produced in sufficient quantities? It is therefore a matter of striking a subtle balance between rarity and availability.
But it gets better: gold is not only virtually unreactive, whatever the storage conditions (and trouser pockets are hardly the most precious of storage cases), but also malleable (coins and engravers appreciate that).
It thus represents the ideal mix for striking coins without delay – and we were not going to let it slip away!
The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which derives from its Latin name aurum. Its origins are probably extraterrestrial, effectively stardust released following a violent collision between two neutron stars. Not merely precious, but equally poetic…
The first gold coins were minted by the kings of Lydia, probably between the 8th and 6th century BC. Whereas nowadays the only gold coins minted are investment coins (bullion coins) or part of limited-edition series aimed at collectors, that was not always the case. And gold circulated extensively from hand to hand and from era to era, from the ancient gold deposits of the River Pactolus to the early years of the 20th century.
As a precious metal, in the same way as silver, gold is used for minting coins with intrinsic value, which is to say the value of which is constituted by the metal from which they are made. Even so, nowadays, the value to the collector frequently far exceeds that of the metal itself...
It should be noted that gold, which is naturally very malleable, is frequently supplemented with small amounts of other metals to render it harder.
The millesimal fineness (or alloy) of a coin indicates the exact proportion (in parts per thousand) of gold included in the composition. We thus speak, for example, of 999‰ gold or 999 parts of gold per 1 part of other metals. This measure is important for investment coins such as bullion. In France, it was expressed in carats until 1995.
An “MS(63)” quality
As in numismatics it is important that the state of conservation of an item be carefully evaluated before it is offered to a discerning collector with a keen eye.
This initially obscure acronym comprising two words describing the state of conservation is explained clearly here:
Mint State(63)
This means – more prosaically – that it is very unlikely that the coin has circulated, even among few and careful hands. Traces of any manipulations are practically imperceptible and no patina or other form of oxidation has altered the object’s brilliance.
