I apologize for the lousy condition of this Faustina II denarius (I'm sure you all have better ones) - it got chopmarked at some point. But ugly as it is I am still trying to attribute it, and I am puzzled. My problem has to do with the difference between RIC 695 and 696. My problem has to do with terminology. One is "diademed" the other has "pearls." The problem seems to be that the diadem is made out of pearls. Which is confusing. Online stuff is confused as well - listing and descriptions are all over the place - dirtyoldbooks, beastcoins, vcoins, Wildwinds, etc. My guess is that the true difference has to do with a single strand of pearls and a double strand of pearls. A diadem can be either one of these, I'd guess. Or is there a difference? Or am I over-complicating things (again)? Mine has a single strand. Any thoughts? Other examples?
Mattingly in BMC describes the distinction as single versus double strand of pearls, but also notes the use of the stephane. That last is being called a diadem by RIC. Yours appears to have a single strand. Here is a double strand w/o stephane: Here is an example with a stephane/diadem, but with a different reverse: And for completeness on this, here is a single "circlet of pearls" such as you see on your coin:
Thank you Irbguy! That is really, really helpful. In addition to helping with the pearl/diadem issue, you showed me what a "stephane" is - I've encountered the term but was very hazy on what it really looked like. Very attractive examples too, by the way. Again, many thanks.
The word "stephane" (pronounced ste-fa-nay') comes into English from the feminine form of the Greek word stephanos, which means "crown" as does the name Stephen. A diadem, as opposed to a crown, is an ornamental headband, emblematic of high office, but worn for less formal occasions not involving rulings of the high official. For matters of state the full weight of a/the crown is endured. In the lrb period, the coins of Constantius II often depict him wearing a pearl or rosette diadem, whereas certain issues of Theodosius depict the full imperial crown of his day. Different messages for different times.
