Another Severan: Forming a portrait of a lovely functional Roman family

I never planned to work my way through silver coinage of the entire Severan dynasty, but somehow things are slowly trending that way. Today I took one step closer to that by adding Granny Elagabalus, a/k/a Granny Maesa. (Expert at selecting mad boys to rule empires).


Julia Maesa, c. 165 - c. 226 AD.
AR denarius, 20mm, 2.1g, 12h; Rome mint, 218-220 AD.
Obv: IVLIA MAESA AVG. draped bust right.
Rev: PVDICITIA, Pudicitia seated left, drawing out veil from shoulder with right hand and holding sceptre in left.
Reference: RIC 268.

Nothing like a fine portrait of a super powerful ancient woman to warm my collector's heart. As always, my thanks to the world famous ancient coin hand modeler JA for his magnificent agility and skills at modeling this ancient beauty.

And to keep Granny Elagabalus company, here are my other members of this very functional Ancient Roman Family, which was the epitome of family love and devotion to duty (If you are about to object, look up the word sarcasm in Webster's Dictionary).


Daddy S, a/k/a Emperor Lady Tickler (Spent so much time styling his beard he forgot to raise his kids)


Baby Knife Attack, a/k/a Emperor Brutus (Don't turn your back on this bad boy)


Big Mamma D, a/k/a Lethal Mamma (If she invites you for a drink with her son Baby Knife Attack, watch your back!)


Mamma's Boy, a/k/a Emperor Tent-bed Wetter (famous for wetting his tent bed as Maximinus' men came to kill him)

 

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One question though, why were the denarii of this period so all over the place? I've seen Severan dynasty denarii ranging from 2.1g all the way to 3.7g

 

Cool addition, I have had many of her.

She does have a younger portrait.


Julia Maesa (218 - 225 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: IVLIA MAESA AVG Draped bust right.
R: IVNO Juno standing facing, head left, holding scepter and patera.
3.3g
20mm
RIC 254 RSC 016


Julia Maesa (218 - 225 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: IVLIA MAESA AVG, Draped bust right.
R: FORTVNAE REDVCI Fecunditas standing left, raising hand over child and cornucopia.
Rome
18.8m
3.1g
RSC 14

Rare Engravers Error:

This coin features Maesa's Fecunditas type, RIC 249 = RSC 8, and should have been labeled FECVNDITAS AVG.

It implies that Maesa's FECVNDITAS AVG type and Elagabalus' FORTVNAE REDVCI type were being produced simultaneously, that is in 219 AD, the known date of the FORTVNAE REDVCI type.

This error is not unpublished: Cohen 14 reports a specimen in Paris, RIC 252 takes it over from Cohen.

About the 6th known of this type, found two other specimens with the same combination of type and legend, both from the same reverse die but feature a young Maesa bust. This type features the older bust type.

Possibly unique to feature this particular bust.


Julia Maesa (218 - 225 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: IVLIA MAESA AVG, Draped bust right.
R: IVNO, Juno standing facing, head left, holding scepter and patera.
Antioch mint., 218 - 220 A.D.
1.97g
20mm
RIC IV 256 var. (diademed); RSC 20a

 

One I just posted is 1.97, less than yours.

And when I asked Curtis about my coin's weight, the summon total of it was "just how they are".

 

Putting myself in that situation, I think I might wet myself as well.

Nice set of coins.

 

Longer answer: Several mints using several degrees of care producing coins of various degrees of silver quality buried in many different soils will make things vary more than you would like. Weight sometimes did matter. We see some heavier ones when it was politically expedient to be and lighter when the emperor was out of town and all that mattered was banging out coins. Wht mattered was getting the right number of coins out of a pound of silver not how close they matched each other.
I have a couple at 3.9 and a couple others at 1.9g.

 

my only severan silver of the year....to date...



Geta. AD 200-205. AR Denarius
O: Bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right R: Geta standing left, holding baton and scepter; trophy of arms to right. RIC IV 18; RSC 157b. 20 mm, 3.8 g

pretty chunky at 3.8 g.

 

Well, here she is with a background added

 

VERY NICE @Sallent !!

Amazing how we all seem to stall in one 'area' or another for a while without even intending to.

Great post guys!!

My example seems like a match LOL

 

My opinion: You got a good coin for a good price. I expected that one to draw more than one bid but those who held back lost out. It would have been an upgrade to my coin of the reverse and I almost bid but you know I'm cheap and figured I'd never sell mine.

 

If you're looking to read about the Severan women, I recommend these two books:

 

Sallent => congrats on adding another coin-chick to your collection (NOTE: Mat pimps-out these girls, so don't piss him off)




Oh, and I also have one lone example of this fine lady (reverse) ...

Ummm sure, she may have taken a few punch-marks in her time, but overall she's still lookin' pretty fine considering that she's over 1700 years old, right?!

Cilicia Ninica-Claudiopolis, AE37 (w c/m)
222-235 BC
Severus Alexander with Julia Maesa

 

Very nice @stevex6 . I love those punch marks. That coin has so much character.

 

Nice Severans everyone!

Here is a Severus Alexander with a die break reverse.

 

I do not have the Empresses, however, I do have the Severan Dynasty Emperors:

SEVERAN DYNASTY:

RI Septimus Severus 193-211 AR Denarius Genius Sacrificing


RI Caracalla 198-217 AR Denarius MONETA


RI Geta AR Denarius 209-211 CE On horse spearing enemy

INTERLUDE OF THE DYNASTY:

RI Macrinus 217-218 AE25 CE Facing Quadriga


RI Macrinus and Didumenian 217-218 CE AE28 Markianopolis mint Serapis

RETURN TO THE DYNASTY:

RI Elagabalus 218-222 CE AR Antoninianus Radiate Roma seated


RI Severus Alexander 222-235 CE AR Denarius laureate Victory stndg

FINIS

 

Here are a few more of my Sev-women ...

Julia Domna




Julia Paula



Julia Mamaea




Orbiana

 

Hmmmm.... this is the EXTENT of my Empresses, and it looks like they are in the Severan Dynasty:

JULIA DOMNA & 1 JULIA SOAEMIAS:

 

Mama's boy in copper

 

Here is my Caracalla Sestertius: