Roman Sestertius Commodus AD 189 RIC III 545 w/ Rare Defaced Image of Emperor

Description

Roman Sestertius Commodus AD 189 RIC III 545 w/ Rare Defaced Image of Emperor
Weight: 20gm
Obverse: Head of Commodus, laureate, right; M COMMOD ANT P FELIX AVG BRIT P P
Reverse: Securitas, draped, seated left on low seat, holding globe in right hand and resting left and on arm of chair
Money People Hated: Damnatio Memoriae on Ancient Roman Coins
ANCIENT COINS OFTEN took a beating in circulation, remaining in use for decades or even centuries. But some surviving coins seem to have been deliberately defaced or mutilated as an expression of popular hatred and contempt for the subject depicted or name inscribed. A 17th-century scholar coined the Latin phrase damnatio memoriae (“damnation of memory”) for this practice, though there is no evidence for the use of the phrase in antiquity[1].
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnatio_memoriae
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/money-people-hated-damnatio-memoriae-on-ancient-roman-coins/
https://coinsweekly.com/defacing-the-past-damnation-and-desecration-in-imperial-rome/