Faustina II - Wife Of Marcus Aurelius

What an interesting coin, tenbobbit! What little I can say about it is probably already known to you (or suspected) but here goes:

The combination of obverse inscription and reverse inscription on this coin is characteristic of Phase 1 Group VI denarii under Antoninus Pius. However, the type of Diana Lucifera does not appear on coins for Faustina Minor until Phase II under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

I compared the reverse figure with the Diana Lucifera type illustrated in BMCRE and it is a dead-on match (compare plate 55 #3 for an aureus, and #4 for a denarius). Since the pairing of this type with the reverse inscription from phase I late is not listed in any of the standard references, I am inclined to believe it is an unofficial hybrid in good silver. I have such a thing for a denarius of Hadrian.

On the other hand, there is a note by Mattingly in the Introduction that is of some importance here: "The types of the last period are not clearly to be distinguished from those of the reign of Marcus. Strack will be somewhere near right in attributing here types of Concordia, Diana Lucifera, and Venus and, above all, Fecunditas Augusta,...." (p. lxxvii) {emphasis mine; His reference to 'Strack' is to P.L. Strack, Die Reichspraegung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius, Stuttgart, 1937, but it is an odd reference inasmuch as it is not specific for location within that work.} Nonetheless, Mattingly thus opens the door for possibilities which would include your coin. Such are the vicissitudes of coins at the borders of two contiguous groups about a single figure. Since nothing exactly like it is listed in either part of the catalog, and the Strack reference is not specific, I doubt your coin was known to Mattingly.

Whether hybrid or "early bird" mint product, I think we are safe to say the combination of inscriptions associates this coin late in the period under Antoninus Pius just before his death.

The burden of proof here is to establish that it is anything more than a hybrid.

Interesting coin nonetheless.

Palouche, just add your new Julia Domna to the Julia Domna thread linked in the sticky! I encourage everyone to post their coins to the already existing threads whenever they come by them!

PHASE II
The next three coins are from the second phase of her coinage, which occurs in two parts:
156-161 under Antoninus Pius
161-175 under Marcus Aurelius (and Lucius Verus)

In the year 161 only, the letters S C appear on her denarii. That was the year her father died and she was elevated to empress along with her husband who then had succeeded to the throne. The only obverse inscription used for the abundance of coins in this phase is FAVSTINA AVGUSTA but with various break patterns, and some differences in her adornment.

One common element throughout is the low position of the chignon. We will do well to take note of the differences in the treatment of her hairdressing.


den 3: FAVSTINA AVGUSTA // SALVS



In our first example for phase II her hair is wavy front to back, and she wears a stephane (simple inset crown) in addition to her headband which has very prominent "ball" decorations, although I must admit that I cannot tell if these are actually meant to be curls of hair below a narrow headband. BMCRE 150 for Marcus Aurelius




DEN 4: FAVSTINA AVGUSTA // IVNONI - R EGINAE



In the second example (unfortunately worn) you can see that the same "ball" /curls headress is worn but without the stephane. The "front to back" wave is also present.

Except for the reverse break pattern, which is not listed per se, of the five listings for the "Juno with peacock" type this comes closest to BMCRE 119 for Marcus Aurelius.



DEN 5: FAVSTINA AVGUSTA // CERES



In the third example the "ball" headress (curls?) gives way to a much simpler band, perhaps a laurel or similar type of wreath. The banding of her hair is now from left to right perhaps with braids at the front, or the front of the headress (I cannot tell in this example.) However, there are two things about this coin that suggest it was late, perhaps near the year of her death. First is the fact that this particular hair treatment was often used in her posthumous issues. Second is the association with Ceres, who was often associated with death imagery. This same type was also used on her other phase II denarii with both of the earlier hair styles (with and without stephane). I attribute this coin as BMCRE 79 although the catalog does not distinguish that entry from #80 except for a slightly wider separation of the final three letters from the others. (C..E...RES vs. C..E.....RES)



PHASE III

My last coin for now is of the third phase.
After 175 - posthumous under M Aurelius


In BMCRE this phase is subdivided into 4 "issues" differentiated by obverse inscription, all of which begin with the word "DIVA".
1-...DIVA AVG FAUSTINA
2-...DIVAE FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR
3-...DIVAE FAVSTINAE PIAE
4-...DIVA FAVS TINA PIA
The fourth issue is by far the most extensive, and shows some diversity in the obverse inscription breaks.

This coin:
DEN 6: DIVA FAV-STINA PIA // CONSECRATIO




The obverse inscription break pattern for this coin is not typical of what is listed in BMCRE (as above Phase III,#4).
It should be immediately apparent that the treatment of the hair for this coin bears great similarity to what we saw in the last example above. This style is actually more characteristic of the posthumous issues appearing with quite a few reverses of the fourth issue. {For me this raises a question about the relative chronology of the posthumous issues.}

There are six variations listed in BMCRE for the CONSECRATIO reverse with peacock (emblem of Juno), four in which the tail of the bird is not spread. Here the peacock stands facing to the right. With this posture the inscription is normally broken CONSEC-RATIO where the head intrudes, but here it seems to be continuous with the head just below the second "C."
I attribute this coin as BMCRE 715 under MAurelius and Commodus (who was elevated to Caesar the year his mother died). Except for weight this entry is indistinguishable from #714. Perhaps it is good to point out here that BMCRE is a record of coins only in the British Museum collection, and each entry corresponds to a coin in their holdings at about the time of publication (1968). The RIC listings are composites from several museums and collections, and more concise in the identification of varieties.


I will add others as they come to me, and I encourage any on the list with coins of this empress to do the same in this thread.


{Sorry for the edit but forgot the attribution notes on the last two coins}

Just a little bit of trivia.

Why a peacock?

When Argus, the hundred-eyed guard animal, was
killed by Hermes (Jupiter's hit-man), some part
of him survived death. His eyes were saved by Juno and set in the tail of her peacock.


Argus, you lie low; the light you had in so many eyes is extinguished,
And your hundred points of light are now all dark.
But Juno saved the eyes, and set them in the feathers of her peacock:
She filled its tail with jewels as bright as stars. (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1,720-23)

And so the peacock was named "Junonia Avis".

The peacock ,(Juno's bird) was dedicated to the Apotheosis,(the glorification of a subject to divine level),of their wives.
And hence it forms a type of reverse seen on the coins of Faustina elder and younger,Julia Domna,
Julia Maesa,Paulina and Mariniana.

Just thought it was a nice story.

Saludos Paul

Thank you, Paul. My greatest hope is that there be some interaction with other students of these coins and the times from which they come. The ultimate goal, as I hope for it, is informed discussion more than guesswork or dreaming. But, to give credit where credit is due, the breaking down into phases in this case was not done by me per se. It is the result of a blend of information from vol IV of BMCRE (Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum)by Harold Mattingly, and vol II of the Roman Silver Coins series by H.A. "Bert" Seaby.

BTW if you are serious about Roman silver coins (all antoninniani are classed as silver irrespective of metal) RSC is an indispensable guide, for two reasons: First it has listed all Roman silver coins known up to the date of publication (varies by volume, but early 80s and later). Secondly, and more importantly it lists coins by ruler then alphabetically by reverse type/inscription, following the numbering system devised by Cohen, THEN it cross references the numbers from BMCRE and RIC. When you know how to use it, RSC is faster than the Internet for attributing silver. But it's a great beginners index to mastering the two greatest compendia in print on Roman coinage.

I also want to thank you for commenting on the peacock image, because we will indeed be running into it again on other posthumous coins, as you pointed out. Your story helps explain the connection to apotheosis. Very timely input.

Aha, one I can join in with ^^

I have Faustina major and minor. I always think that sounds like a constellation.





Great thread and coins, loads of information and interesting stuff.

I love the veiled pieces, and this one is very attractive and seldom seen. But the attribution is not quite right.

The coin you are showing does not read as you have indicated. The fact that she is veiled is just one indication that this coin is a posthumous issue and later than the coins with the obverse inscription you mention (see phase II above). This obverse reads: DIVA FAV-STINA PIA, and the reverse is not of Vesta but reads AETERNITAS and features Ceres. Your coin is from the fourth posthumous issue. The catalog description for this reverse reads, "Ceres, veiled, draped standing front, head, l. with r. hand by shoulder drawing fold out of veil and holding a short torch, vertical in l. hand." It is BMCRE 708, RIC 738 for Marcus Aurelius alone.

My guess is that the seller reproduced the description for the RIC entry above this one. In the hopes of finding one, may I ask about the selling price?