That don't Empress me much

In my never ending search for Roman emperors and empresseses (don't try to correct what you know to be the true way to spell the plural of empress), I just received my Mariniana! The front is good enough to make out that she was a beauty. But the reverse is one of the silliest of the late Roman empire. It's the little lady (literally she must've been tiny to achieve this feet) riding a PIGEON!!!

Diva Mariniana: RIC: V6 Billon Antoninianus THIS EXAMPLE HAS IMPROPER METAL MIXTURE WITH SOME SILVERING SHOWING THROUGH AREAS ON THE RREVERSE. 253 AD.
I cannot find anywhere how she died but as you may recall her old man, Valerian, was captured by the Persian king Shapur and was rumored to either have been killed and stuffed to be used as the kings footrest or he was the kings living stepping stool when he needed to mount his horse for a decade until the king tired of him and then had him killed by having molten gold poured down his throat.
His boy Gallerian never even made an attempt to rescue pops (I'm losing sleep and changing diapers, why?)
Anyway, the seller was super cool and even threw in a couple freebies! The 1st I'm thinking is Arcadius with advancing Victory on the reverse.

The 2nd bonus coin your guess is as good as mine.


Pretty fun! So please post any hard to find Empresseseses, whacky reverses or anything you find fitting!

 

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Congratulations on your find. Mariniana does look beautiful! I'm curious if you only collect empresses, or if it's a sub-specialty you're pursuing. Here's my obligatory hard-to-find empress, with correspondingly rough portrait:

Annia Faustina (as Augusta). Egypt, 221 CE. Potin tetradrachm, Alexandria mint, dated RY 5 of Elagabalus (222 CE). 23mm, 11.98g, 11h. Köln 2383, Dattari (Savio) 4191, K&G 59.3 (this coin illustrated). Obv: ANNIA – [ΦAYCTINA – CEBA]; draped bust right. Rx: helmeted bust of Athena right, wearing aegis; L Є (date) before.

 

Holy smokes! Annia Faustina!?!? I thought she was just an urban legend to scare anyone that was attempting an empress collection away from the sick delusion of such grandeur. Very cool! Bad ace reverse as well! (LOVE Athena's helmet).
I've been pretty obsessed with the sub-specialty of the ladies of Rome since pretty early on (even thought I had a Annia Faustina once. Had to return it as the seller was trying to pass off a Faustina jr as your girl).
My dream girl, Dryantilla (even has my name in hers!) is essentially unattainable. But maybe that's why I love this area of ancients so much. Self revelation!!
Anywhoob, great coin right there. And thank you so much for sharing.

 

Annia Faustina denarii are pretty much out of reach price wise. Even provincials are expensive. An Annia Faustina denarius, finest known, sold in a Goldberg auction (if I remember correctly) about three years ago for something like $200,000. So my bumpy Annia is going to have to do for me. But I'm glad you like her. I do love the reverse also.

Dryantilla is so obscure I'm not familiar with her at all. I'm going to have to go to Wikipedia! Thanks for sharing your coins as well. I love the empresses, too. But yeah, the rarity of some of them can be pretty daunting.

 

Did somebody say Annia Faustina? Because I've got the Lindgren plate coin ...


Here's the listing in Lindgren I:



But that's off-topic. The topic was Mariniana:

 

The only scarcer Empress I have is Antonia Minor, who was (deep breath) the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, niece of Augustus, sister-in-law of Tiberius, grandmother of Caligula, mother of Claudius, and both great-grandmother and great-aunt of Nero.

 

WoWiE!!! That is simply amazing and a beautiful patina on that Annia Faustina Lindgren plate right there (I wonder how old Osiris felt when the Greeks made up Serapis and bequeathed his sister/wife over to him!?).
Soooo, 2 questions. 1st: who'd ya have to kill to get that beauty and B: can I kill them again???
Very nice Marinianas as well. Your 1st and mine are pretty close. The only difference I see is that yours is riding a silver dove and mine is on one of those scrub pigeons from under the freeway overpass!
Very impressed. Thanks for sharing.

 

When Mr. Lindgren got up in years, he sold off his collection in a series of buy-or-bid sales by mail from his company, Antioch Associates. I purchased a lot of coins this way from him. I purchased that one nearly 20 years ago. Mr. Lindgren was in his 80s at the time and he has since passed away.

Here's another Lindgren coin with provenance:


Cleopatra Thea, Queen of Syria, with son Antiochus VIII
AR tetradrachm; 15.85 gm, 27 mm
Antioch mint, 125-121 BC
Obv: Jugate busts, r.
Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, Zeus Nikephoros seated l., holding lotus-tipped scepter; IE outer left, A under throne
Refs: SNG Spaer 2437; c.f. Sear 7135
Ex-Henry Clay Lindgren.

Here's a write-up about the sale in The Celator

 

Now that is just cool LOVE the reverse (who am I kidding, I love everything about that coin...including it being in the Celetor!), Zeus looks particularly laid back.

Sad to say, I started collecting after the Celetor went under. Within the last 6 months I purchased my 1st issue. Which is to say I then had to buy 10 more issues (bought a grip of them in a lot) once I flew through reading that 1st one. What an amazing resource for ancient coiners!
Are there any mags or sites out there to fill a void like that of the Celetor that you all would recommend?

 

Wow, @Roman Collector, those are some truly awesome ex Lindgren pieces you have. I take it the the Uranius Antoninus got away? And @benhur767, wow, that Annia is lovely, thanks for posting.

I don't have a Mariniana yet, I love the portrait on your new one, @Ryro! Congrats!

In fact, I don't have any particularly rare empresses at all... but here are a couple not-super-common ones in not-super-common denominations for the thread:

Aquilia Severa (220-222), dichalkon from Tyre. Victory walking left holding palm and placing wreath on palm tree; murex shell between.


Orbiana, AE as, Concordia seated l., holding patera and double cornucopia.

 

I like it

 

Typo? Gallienus

Nice!! One of these days I'll get an Alexandrian Annia Faustina... even though they are considerably more common than her Imperial coins, they're still tough to get and expensive. I'd be quite happy with one as nice as yours!

Very very cool coin!

...

I don't have a ton of empresses but here are a few.

Not an uncommon empress but an uncommon reverse:

Julia Domna
AR denarius, 19.5mm, 3.17 gm, 6h. Rome mint
Struck under Septimius Severus, circa AD 207-211
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA; draped bust right
Rev: Fecunditas or Tellus (Earth) reclining left under tree, resting arm on basket of fruit and placing hand on celestial orb; standing before her are four children representing the Four Seasons
Ref: RIC IV 549 (Septimius Severus); RSC 35

Aquilia Severa with a very nice depiction of Zeus Ammon:

EGYPT, Alexandria. Aquilia Severa
year 5, CE 221/2
tetradrachm, 23.5 mm, 11.57 gm
Obv: draped bust right
Rev: head of Zeus Ammon right; L-E
Ref: Emmett 3025.5, R3; Geissen 2376; Dattari 4186

A provincial of Julia Maesa, purchased because of its sheer beauty:

PHOENICIA, Tyre. Julia Maesa
CE 218-224/5
AE 27, 12.71g (11h)
Obv: IVLIA MAE - SA AV[G] Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Rev: TVRIORVM Dido (?) standing left on deck of galley sailing right, extending right hand and holding cornucopia in left; to left, helmsman bending left over rudder (?); to right, sailor extending right hand and holding curved staff in left; stern decorated with a shield and aphlaston, [two murex shells] in exergue
Ref: CNG e320, 12 Feb. 2014, lot 323 (same dies). Rouvier 2408

An unusually nice tet of Julia Mamaea:

EGYPT, Alexandria. Julia Mamaea
year 13, CE 233/4
tetradrachm, 24 mm, 14.36 gm
Obv: IOVMAMAIACEBMHTECEKCTPA; Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Rev: Serapis enthroned left, holding scepter, extending his right hand toward Cerberus seated at his feet; on throneback, Nike standing right, holding wreath and palm frond; L IΓ (date) to left, palm frond to right
Ref: Emmett 3226.13 (R4); Köln 2540; Dattari (Savio) 4517; K&G 64.119

 

Fair Warning:
Annia Faustina, wife of Elagabalus and rare of coin was the great granddaughter of another Annia Faustina who we know better as Faustina II, wife of Marcus Aurelius. There are a few issues of Faustina II that include her name Annia in their legends so don't be fooled into paying high prices for the wrong empress. Below is one of the 'foolers'. See the legend at left ANNIA FAV.
AE28 Diocaesarea / thunderbolt

https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&currency=usd&thesaurus=1&order=0&company=

IMHO the above face could hardly be anyone but Faustina II but there will be those who sell this coin as the lady in higher demand. Of course this coin is hardly common so you may have trouble finding one if you want it.

 

What typo? Oh, you must've forgotten Mariniana's 1st husband and son, Vallienus and Gallerian. Derp. Thanks for pointing that out. I'd fix it but the edit option appears to be gone
BTdubs, I pulled a joke I had in there about how this impress name sounds a lot like a certain sticky icky substance that TIF had in at least 4 of the 6 bowls she loaded for Nero
As always, your coins are pure beauty and your photography is pure class. I love all of the reverses...but I think that Mamaea tet takes the cake.

 

Thank you! I'll trade you my one Annia for the three beauties you just posted!
They're all amazing. I can't pick a favorite, all three are that fantastic.

I've been trying to get a Domna with that Fecunditas reverse (even close to) as nice as yours for quite some time.

 

Your thread title gave me a good laugh, @Ryro .

She's not much to look at, but here's the rarest empress I have.

DIDIA CLARA
AE Sestertius. 18.24g, 30.0mm. Rome mint, AD 193. Struck under Didius Julianus. RIC 20; Cohen 4. O: DIDIA CLARA AVG, draped bust right. R: HILAR TEMPOR, Hilaritas standing left, holding long palm in extended right hand and cornucopiae in left hand; S-C across field.
Ex Dr. Rainer Pudill Collection

 

Thank you thank you. I'll be here all week. Try that artichoke and spinach dip and don't forget to tip the waiting staff.
But seriously, Didia Clara!?!? Daughter of the monopoly man herself! Just wow! They say in her day she was the most beautiful woman in Rome. And you have a really good look at her face on that there coin. Mark me empress'd

 

Another beautifull woman in Rome , Antonia the younger / minor

 

Wow, super congrats @Ryro ! That is a beauty and a great find!

I have one as well as a couple other hard to find Empresses (nice Thread Title BTW!)


RI Mariniana AR Ant 253-254 CE Crescent - On Peacock flying 21.2mm 3.1g RIC VII 6 Rome


RI Alexandria Livia, w Augustus Diobol CE 1-2 Æ 23.5mm 7.46g. Rev. Athena holding Nike Sheild ex Dattari-Savio Pl. 3 60-this coin RPC pag. 692-5-this coin RARE


RI Paulina w Maximinus I D before CE 235 AE sestertius 30.77mm 19.66g 2nd emiss of Maximinus I CE 236 Peacock RIC IV 3 RARE


RI Magnia Urbica 285 CE silvered Ant AE 23mm 3.4g cresent - Venus helmet scepter shield RIC 343 Rare


RI Aelia GALLA PLACIDIA Augusta Regent for Valentinian III 423-437 CE mo of Theodosius Æ4 Bust E - cross CID visible ex FSR 102


RI Verina w Leo I AE2 20mm 457-475 Victory inscribing CHI RHO - RIC X 656 R3 RARE

Not an Empress, but a power-hungry Empress Wannabe...

RImp Marc Antony 43 BCE AR Quinarius 13mm 1.67g Lugdunum Winged bust Victory-probly Fulvia Lion DVNI LVGV Cr 489-5 Syd 1160

Not so hard to get as a Provincial...

RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64AD Milne 217 RPC 5275

and a few others...