Pertinax, 193. Aureus (Gold, 19 mm, 7.28 g, 6 h), Rome, 1 January-28 March 193. IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN•AVG Laureate head of Pertinax to right. Rev. LAETITIA•TEMPOR•COS•II Laetitia standing front, head to left, holding wreath in her right hand and long scepter in her left. BMC 7. Calicó 2383. Cohen 19. Lempereur 101b (this coin, D40/R66). RIC 4A. Rare. A wonderful piece with a particularly noble portrait. Nearly extremely fine.




Born of humble origins - his father was a Ligurian freedman - Pertinax rose to prominence under Marcus Aurelius, building a distinguished career through his service in key military campaigns. These included the Parthian Campaign of Lucius Verus (161-166) and the fiercely contested Marcomannic Wars (166-180). His military successes earned him a formidable reputation and brought him into Marcus Aurelius’ inner circle in the late 170s. This led to his appointment as suffect consul in 175 and subsequent governorships of Moesia Inferior (176-177), Moesia Superior (177), Dacia (178-179), and Syria (179-180).

Pertinax’s career faced a setback during the early reign of Commodus, but he returned to prominence between 185 and 192. During this period, he served as governor of Britannia (185-187), praefectus alimentorum (187-188), proconsul of Africa (188-190), and finally praefectus urbi (190-192), a prestigious position close to the emperor. His political ascension culminated in his joint consulship with Commodus in 192.

When the Praetorian Prefect, Aemilius Laetus, orchestrated the assassination of Commodus on 31 December 192, the 66-year-old Pertinax was proclaimed emperor. A highly respected statesman and veteran of Roman politics, Pertinax sought to restore order to the res publica after the chaotic reign of Commodus, striving to return to the prudent governance of Marcus Aurelius. However, his financial austerity measures and attempts to reimpose discipline alienated the Praetorian Guard. Misjudging his authority, Pertinax underestimated the guards’ power and dependence on their favor. On 28 March 193, they assassinated him and infamously auctioned the throne to Didius Julianus for the staggering sum of 25,000 sestertii per soldier. Despite his tragic end, Pertinax was later deified as Divus Pertinax Pater by Septimius Severus, who captured Rome on 9 June 193 and established the Severan dynasty (193-235).

This magnificent Aureus of Pertinax is not only from the esteemed collection of Regierungsrat Dr. iur. Hans Krähenbühl, which we had the privilege of auctioning in 2021, but also from that of Frank McClean, FRS, FRAS (1837-1904). A distinguished British astronomer and pioneer of objective prism spectrography, McClean initially trained as an engineer after studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, before devoting himself entirely to astronomy from 1870 onward. His contributions to spectrography were groundbreaking - he discovered oxygen in the spectra of several stars in 1897 and was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1899. Beyond his scientific achievements, he was a passionate collector, particularly of medieval art, books, and coins. His son, Sir Francis McClean (1876-1955), became a renowned aviation pioneer and co-founder of the Royal Aero Club.