Faustina coin

This coin was among a big group that I am trying to sort and sell for a relative. I asked about some of the others earlier. I don't collect ancients so I am not knowledgeable about them at all. I figured out this was Faustina, but I don't know if it's real. I saw a lot of different images online and none of the ones I saw seemed to match exactly, but there was a lot of variety. Can anyone who knows more enlighten me? And what type of metal would this be? It is a golden color but I'm pretty sure it isn't gold. Brass?

 

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A good entry-level coin if you get the urge to buy it from your relative, just sayin'

Anyways, its a posthumous issue of one of the Faustinas (probably Faustina I; I'm not very knowledgeable of this era). It is bronze. What is its weight/diameter?

 

hmmm a mystery to me.

 

AE => Brass

Sweet lookin' coin

I have a similar example of a Faustina Sesterius (mine is a Faustina II)

 

For starters, the weight of the coin would give us the denomination.

I haven't actively collected or researched the Faustina coins, so I could be wrong, but I think it's Faustina Junior, the wife of Marcus Aurelius. The obverse legend would be DIVA FAV-STINA PIA. The obverse legend on coins of Faustina I usually have DIVA on the left and FAVSTINA on the right. The problem with that is that the portraits of Faustina Junior tend to be a little more youthful looking. The bust on your coin looks like Faustina I to my inexperienced eye.

As far as the reverse goes, I can't make out enough detail to say, and the legend is completely obliterated. A few different deities had similar standing poses: Aeternitas, Ceres, Juno...

As far as selling it goes, I'd be surprised if you got $10 for it, unless it was some sort of rare variety. Bronzes of the two Faustinas are common and inexpensive in much higher grades.

 

This looks very much to me to be Faustina I. The obverse legend DIVA FAV-STINA is possible. The reverse looks like Ceres holding a torch in her left hand and in her right either corn ears or another torch, mostly guessing that the reverse legend reads AVGVSTA. The size and weight would confirm the denomination, but it looks like a sestertius to me. I believe these would be common. Value I'd say $15.

 

I agree with z. Its Faustina I and its a nice portrait. Depending on denomination, value should be in the $15 range.

 

I think the Op coin is a RIC 1106 (Antoninus Pius), BMC 1495, C 30 Sestertius Obv: DIVAAFAVSTINA - Diademed, draped bust right.
Rev: AETERNITAS - Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and holding veil overhead. c.146-161 (Rome). NB. there is no altar present on the reverse and the obv legend reads DIVAFAU then breaks which suggests the above coin, by elimination.

Steves coin is a scarcer coin than the OP, a FAUSTINA II JUNIOR AE sestertius. FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right. Reverse - IVNO S-C, Juno standing left with patera & scepter, peacock to left. RIC 1646

OP coin £10, maybe
Steves is worth more....its nice.

 

Thanks for the info. Does 24 grams sound right? I'm using my postal scale to measure it.

 

24 g puts it in sestertius range.

 

The reverse on the one you showed is different. Mine seems to be holding a torch.

 

Can you make out any of the reverse legend in hand. I think I see "IV" so it may be Juno.

 

Bing, are you looking at Steves coin? Thats Juno...IVNO
OP coin I think you can see T E in AETERNITAS at 7/8 oclock

 

Tough to ID in this condition. It is a death issue of faustina Sr. And I believe the reverse is either Juno or Ceres.

 

I agree.
YOC: I am looking at the OP coin. Steve's coin is easy to read. I still think I see "IV" at the 8-9 o'clock position on the OP coin. But sometimes the mind plays tricks with your eyes. We see what we want to see sometimes. The right elbow seems to be bent upwards, while the "torch" in the left arm is a short torch if that is what it is.

 

On the side with the portrait, on the left of her it says "diva fau" and on the right side it says "ST" before the rest is worn off. I saw other examples online of the name split like this. On the side with the standing figure, There is an S on the left of the figure and a C on the right. Along the edge to the left, I can see what I think is an S followed by TE. Those are the only letters I can see.

 

Based on what you think you see, it is possible that your coin is as follows:

RIC 1099, Faustina I AE Sestertius, DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right, hair waved and coiled on top of head / AETERNITAS S-C, Ceres, veiled, standing left holding corn-ears & torch

Take a look at : http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/faustina_I/RIC_1099.jpg

 

While I agree with the YOC reading of Aeternitas, it really makes no difference. None of the options for Faustina I (100% certain for the OP) with a single standing figure are worth more than the others and, even if they were, you would need a good enough detail that you did not have to wonder what it was. The coin has a reasonably clear but worn portrait and therein lies 98% of its value. I'm known to be cheap and would not pay the $10-15 that I would expect to see the coin offered for by a reasonable seller.

When someone asks a coin's value, what are we to say? Few dealers would want to buy a single example of a very worn coin since they are likely to get all they can handle as parts of groups they buy. It could be sold to someone with few or no ancients coins since it is definitely a genuine sestertius of an identifiable historical personage but it is not the sort of coin someone might seek if they specificly wanted a coin of Faustina I or if they collected 2nd century sestertii. The question to me is not so much how much the coin is worth but how to find the person who would want to give it a happy home. I'd give it to a high school Latin teacher or student.

 

To some people $10 can mean alot. I think its fair we attempt to ID the coin, why not, the OP asked?? Otherwise why dont we just say unless a coin is worth $10 or more we wont bother and we tell the poster where to go.......I do not understand. That sounds a little 'grumpy' to me Doug.

 

Thanks for saying so. While I don't collect ancients, I collect world coins and 95 percent of what I have in my collection cost less than $10. I have thousands of coins and they are still worth collecting to me. Some people don't want coin collecting to be a hobby where they sink all of their money in, but more something where they can spend a few dollars and get a bunch of old pieces of metal to look at. I see people posting on this board about their PCGS MS 67 whatever that cost them $1,000 and it doesn't appeal to me at all.

Anyway, thanks for all the help figuring it out. More than anything I wanted to make sure it wasn't fake so I could sell it in good conscience.