Let's march through time with Roman Imperials!

im new to this and dont know how to post, can someone help me

 

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Having just spent a few hours working these up, I will show some of the Sabina varieties before rushing on. Sabina has many faces, even on the denarius. I have been playing with that for a while now and will do a thread on it. But here are a couple of examples:
Mattingly groups the coins of Sabina into 5 groups according to obverse legend, three of which occur on silver.

Group III - SABINA AVGVSTA - HADRIANI AVG P P
there are 5 main bust types for this group. Here I show type "c" with her hair piled on the top of her head in a stye very much like that of her mother, Matidia -

The reverse features the figure of Vesta seated left holding the Palladium forward in her right hand and supporting a scepter in her left (not transverse). The figures below her throne are reminiscent of the ornamental acroteria that appear later on certain architectural issues (e.g Maxentius). In the exergue appear the senate confirmation letters S C which typically do not appear on denarii.

Group IV - SABINA - AVGVSTA

The first and third of the bust types used in Group three are also used here. Type "c" is similar to the above, and type "a" appears here:


This features a plait that runs down the back of her neck, and rises to a crest over her stephane above her diadem.

The reverse features Concordia (CONCOR - DIA AVG) seated on throne to left, holding out a patera in her right hand and resting her left elbow on a statue of Spes. Directly below her seat is a cornucopia.

Group 5 (Posthumous) - DIVA AVG - SABINA

Although Mattingly does not discuss it there is a surprising amount of variety among the busts of her posthumous issues. Not all of these are veiled, but the bulk of them are. The most characteristic look is shown here:



The veil covers her back braid, giving the appearance of an appendage behind her.

The reverse features a horned altar with four panels in front on a door. This is surrounded on three sides by the inscription PIE - TATI - AVG.

In addition to the three main classes of denarii, Mattingly also provides a listing of hybrids of questionable origin. This next coin is one of those:


The INDVLGENT I A AVG PP reverse is normally used with coins of Hadrian, and bears the characteristic COS III in the exergue.

There's plenty more where that came from, but it deserves a thread of its own.

 

Antoninus Pius AE As
Rome Mint 143-144 AD
Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III Laureate head right
Reverse: IMPERATOR II S C Jupiter, seated left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre
References: RIC 727a Rare
Size: 28mm, 12.50g
"There are no records of any military related acts in his time in which he participated. One modern scholar has written "It is almost certain not only that at no time in his life did he ever see, let alone command, a Roman army, but that, throughout the twenty-three years of his reign, he never went within five hundred miles of a legion".[34](wiki) His 23 year reign was the most peaceful of the entire history of the empire. He freed many slaves and rescinded the death penalty hanging over the heads of many senators from his predecessor. He also allowed many of the Jewish Rabbinic sages to go free from hiding who also were under a death edict for teaching their religion. He rescinded the edicts that forbid the Jews and other religious minorities to practice their beliefs. Talmudic anecdotes include his close friendship with two Rabbinic sages in particular who during their visit to Rome it is said healed his ailing daughter who I believe must have been Faustina II as I mentioned in an earlier post about the whole incident. He left the treasuries full for those who followed his reign.
Antoninus Pius
Macedonia, As a Roman Province (Koinon) 137-161 AD
Obverse: AYT K T AI ANTWNINOC Laureate, draped bust right
Reverse: KOINON MAKEDONWN Ares standing left holding spear and wreath
Moushmov: -, Sear -, Lindgren -, BMC - Very Rare
Size: 27mm, 9.92g

Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius
Rome Mint 153-154 AD
Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XVI Laureate head right
Reverse: INDVLGENTIA AVG COS IIII Indulgentia seated left on throne, extending hand and holding scepter; SC in exergue
References: RIC 904
Size: 32mm, 20.08g

 

Whoooooooa. That Matidia though...Thanks for sharing @lrbguy.

I've always loved the almost spectral visage of Antoninus Pius. But what a great and under appreciated emperor!

Antoninus Pius (138-161
AD). AR Denarius (18 mm,
3.39 g), Roma (Rome), 153-
154 AD.
Obv. ANTONINVS AVG
PIVS P P TR P XVII,
laureate head right.
Rev. COS IIII, Vesta
standing holding simpulum
and Palladium.
RIC III, 229b.
Nicely toned

 

Sestertii of Antoninus Pius and his wife, Faustina I:

 

You just did! Congrats on the 1st step. "Post reply" if you wanna comment on someone else's thread or start your own by selecting "post new thread".
Pretty user friendly and everyone around the joint is pretty coo. Just wipe your feet on the mat And if you need any help please reach out

 

It is hard not to love Faustina I's hair. In a long line of Roman empresses with unique hairstyles, hers is right up there.

Diva FaustinaSenior
wife of Antoninus Pius (141 BCE). Silver
denarius (3.69 gm). Ca. 147-161. DIVA FAV—
STINA, draped bust of Diva Faustina right with
jewels in her hair / AETER-NITAS, Aeternitas
or Juno standing facing, head left, raising right
hand and holding scepter. BMCRE 345. RIC

 

Love these Faustinas!

 

Antoninus Pius, Sestertius - Rome mint, AD 140/144
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right
PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM, winged thunderbolt, S - C in field
25.86 gr, 31 mm
Ref : Cohen #682, RCV # 4208, RIC III # 618



Diva Faustina, Denarius - Rome mint, after AD 147
DIVA FAVSTINA, Draped bust right with pearls in hair
AVGV STA, Vesta standing left, draped and veiled, holding simpulum and palladium
3.29 gr, 18 mm
Ref : RCV #4587, RIC III # 368, Cohen #108

Q

 

AAAAAAARGH!

Well I screwed that up pretty good, so now it's time to fess up and fix it. In the Sabina group I posted above I showed the wrong coin for the second example.

This is the coin I intended to show there for Group IV.



The coin with the irridescent obverse toning is from Group III not Group IV; same obverse legend as the first coin. The rest of the details are pretty much as described, but now the figure of Concordia sits more erect with her left hand holding a scepter. Still has the cornucopia under the seat, as I see it.
That's how similar they are to one another. See?


Sorry for the confusion.

 

Does anyone have - - Galerius Antoninus, son of Antoninus Pius and Faustina I?

 

Great thread!

 

To be honest I have never even heard of this dude. I hope someone has an example.

 

Great point. I searched the sites history and he has never been posted here. I've borrowed this image from wild winds so we can keep moving...

Faustina Senior & Galerius Antoninus AE27 As of uncertain Greek mint (Cyprus?). ΘEA ΦAYCTEINA, draped bust right / M ΓAΛEΡIOC ANTΩNINOC AYTOKΡATOΡOC ANTΩNINOY YIOC, draped bust right.

 

Here's the hit list going forward. It has some of muy favorite rare/short lived emperors and their fams:

 

Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.)
Egypt, Alexandria
Billon Tetradrachm
O: ΑVΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ [ΑΔΡ] – ΑΝΤWΝΙΝΟС – [EVСEΒ], Bareheaded and draped bust right.
R: L ENΔEKATOV, Dikaiosyne seated left, holding scales and cornucopia. Dated RY 11 (147/48 A.D)
24mm
11.9g
Emmett 1377.11


FAUSTINA Sr. (138-141 AD)
AR Denarius
Lifetime Issue
O: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right.
R: IVNONI REGINAE, Peacock seated on throne and scepter behind.
18mm
3.5g
RIC-340, RSC-221 BMC (Antoninus Pius) 145 (same reverse die)

Ex Robert Kutcher Collection (Triton X, 8 January 2007), lot 1606 (part of)