Featured A Beautifully Toned Liberalitas... but What is she Holding?

Wow, they were buying votes even back then. Granted, you didn't exactly vote for emperors, but even emperors had to ensure they didn't fall out of favor.

My favorite fact about Antoninus's reign is that we know comparatively little about it. And from that fact, scholars may quickly deduce that it was a time of relative peace and prosperity. No disasters to make the news, much less history!

And a fair share of the credit must also attach to his predecessor Hadrian...who established the conditions for this long, successful reign with his own. Even Trajanus gets some credit in my view, for much the same reason.

One of the many spectacular aspects of the Roman Empire, and of the republic which preceded it, was how thoroughly–and gloriously—they could recover from extreme events like those of the first century.

 

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I agree with you. This is why I was very surprised one day when I found in a bookshop a 450 pages biography entitled "Antonin le Pieux" by Bernard Rémy. What did he find to tell about this emperor so he could write so thick a book? I read it and realized that most of it was a description of the Empire and its institutions in the early 2nd c...

 

Your post came at the beginning of a terrible week and a half for me, thus my tardy comment, @Curtisimo. (I'm feeling a lot better now!) I just couldn't miss saying something about such a beautiful Sev Alex, could I!! First, the toning is just lovely, something I believe you have a weakness for, yes? Second, I love the portrait style. SA looks quite mature and ready to handle what life will throw at him... unlike most of his young eastern portraits. Both early eastern denarii I have show the callow youth he's usually represented to be:



I suppose there's an element of steely determination on this second one, but he still looks very young. Also on this second one, the engraver didn't leave enough room for the obverse legend: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAN followed by a super-squished D and A, and no VG at all.

I prefer to think your portrait is a more accurate depiction of SA's disposition.

I also really enjoyed the writeup on Liberalitas, and the further discussion in the thread. It seems you've collectively put together some pretty good evidence that the device is a coin tray. Cool! I hope archaeologists eventually find one.

I have a few SA Liberalitas issues, though only in middle bronze. (I don't really collect SA denarii or sestertii.) Here's his accession issue dupondius, Rome mint, issued in 222:

I find it interesting that your coin is dated to 223, many months into the reign, despite its being copied from a 222 Rome mint product (RIC 148). It's also interesting that the Rome mint accession issue seems to be significantly scarcer than the eastern first liberality; in fact I think several alleged RIC 148's on acsearch are misidentified eastern denarii. (The accession issue dupondius above is decidedly rare.)

Here's an As-sized medallion for his Liberalitas III, with an interesting provenance. I'm particularly pleased that it is ex Curtis Clay!

AE medallion. Roma 64 lot 795, 28.11.2019; Ex Naumann 76 lot 474 (07.04.2019); Ex Leu 5 lot 760 (23.09.2018), from the G. G. collection; Ex CNG 315 lot 479 (20.11.2013), from the R. D. Frederick collection; previously part of the Curtis Clay collection, acquired by Clay from Lanz Graz IV, 23 November 1974, lot 605, from the collection of the Marquis de Albrecht Hohenkubin (von Kubinzky)(1885-1972) - a collection formed in the early 1900s, buried during Allied bombing of Vienna in WWII, then dug out of the rubble in 1955.

Finally, here's a hefty (15.27g, 29mm) As from his fourth Liberalitas:

Not much to say about this one, but who doesn't like extra-chunky coins?

OK phew, glad to get all that off my chest! Thanks for the great thread!!

 

Eastern denarii, fine style bronzes... medallions! Your posts are always a treat and I know you have quite the arsenal of great coins for this particular emperor. Your medallion (and provenance) is amazing!

I am very sorry to hear that my friend. My thoughts are with ya buddy and I’m glad you are feeling a bit better now.

I do indeed have a weakness for nicely toned coins (to my slight embarrassment considering how transitory a state it is).

Thank you my friend! Indeed this thread has seen some great participation. In fact I owe a follow up thank you to @GinoLR for posting the most recent high resolution photos of the Arch of Constantine. The details showing the coin chests was interesting to me as well.

In fact thanks too all of those that responded and participated in the thread. It has been fun.

Thanks @AussieCollector !