Does anyone have references to comprehensive info on his coins, especially the reverses of Virtvs with female Goddess/deity. I am aware that the term Virtvs was normally attributed to males due to the Vir (latin-Man), but the greek version, Arete, was female and was used to describe excellence. Any references will be gladly received as the research and learning is, to me, as important as collecting. Many thanks in advance
Virtus is a very frequent legend on Roman coins from the 1st c. BC to the 5th c. AD. It can be Virtus alone, Virtus Aug. or Augg., Virtus exercitus, etc... The legend Virtus is found associated with a lot of different images. The oldest ones, I think, must be the Q. Fufius Calenus and Mucius Cordus denarii of BC 68: jugate heads of Honos and Virtus right. Virtus is wearing a crested helmet and is unbearded, it can be interpreted as young male or female. On denarii of Galba, the legend Virtus is associated with the image of a young naked male figure standing leaning on spear and holding parazonium (a type inspired by a statue of Alexander by Lysippus). But on sestertii of the same emperor with the reverse Honos et Virtus, Virtus is a female deity hemeted and dressed like an amazon, one breast naked. On other coins of other emperors Virtus is sometimes male (and wearing a cuirass) or female. Representations of Virtus on the coinage of Philip the Arab are not very original. It is the female amazonic Virtus standing right (Virtus exercitus), or Philip and his son on horseback galloping right and raising hand (a decursio type) with the legend Virtus Augg., or an interesting female helmeted deity seated left on cuirass and holding branch (Virtus Aug.): she is in fact Roma seated, as she was already represented on the Ara Pacis of Augustus. Virtus seems to have been a non-binary deity
Thank you for that great info. Also answers another question I had about the seated image. I asumed because of the helmet style she was based on the Greek Arete or the Roman Roma. And I think the seated version is more interesting than the standing reverses. This is a worn example but still showing a nice reverse
