Favorite Roman Portraits

I like the portrait of this Moneyer from the Republic... Some GUMPTION as Sear states "The remarkable coinage of the monetary quattuorvirate for 42 BC... in the names of the Triumvirs Antony, Octavian and Lepidus, together with Caesar...as well as of the moneyers themselves."

Pretty wild a MONEYER took liberties to put his portrait out there...supposedly, this is a bust of his FATHER Praetor L. Livineius Regulus...

Roman Republic:

AR Denarius 42 BCE 3.8g 19mm
Bare head of the Praetor - L. Livineius Regulus right
Gladiatorial scene; in foreground, one man attacks lion with spear; in back ground, second man with shield and sword attacks panther; on left, wounded boar; in exergue, L. REGVLVS
Craw 494-30 Syd 1112 Sear 489

 

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Wow, such a distinctive portrait of this person. I love the forehead wrinkles. The reverse is amazing, too. Gladiatorial scene with animals. It doesn't get cooler than this.

 

LOL, yeah, with the flan scar to his mouth, I always thought that it looks like he is
"Chewin' on a piece of grass, walkin' down the rooo-oo-oad"
America, "Ventura Highway"

 

It does! Also, it looks like that countermark was aimed perfectly to fit in his ear.

 

I've always liked this one of Decius.


A Claudius Gothicus that's 'nice for Antioch'.


Are we allowed to sneak Provincials in here? Young Marcus Aurelius from Philippopolis.

 

Wow! That is an amazing portrait and a fantastic coin!

That Aelia Flaccilla may be the most artistic LRB portrait I've seen!
...

Favorite portraits, huh? Looking through my coins I've never considered that, and it is also clear that almost every coin was selected primarily for the reverse.

Here's one for which the portrait sealed the deal:


Lucilla
Empress CE 163-169, wife of Lucius Verus
AR denarius, 19 mm, 3.25 gm
Obv: LVCILLA AVGVSTA; draped bust right
Rev: PVDICITIA; Pudicitia, veiled, standing left, with right hand preparing to draw a veil across her face (or had she just drawn the veil off her face?), left hand at side
Ref: RIC III 780

My most recent acquisition happens to have a portrait full of character. It just arrived and I haven't photographed it yet, but here's a cropped version of the seller's images:


Domitian

 

Fantastic coins everyone! At the moment I'd have to say this one of SS is my favourite.

 

Here are what I consider to be the most naturalistic portraits of the adult Caracalla and Geta that I have in my collection:


Caracalla. AR denarius, Rome mint, struck 210–1 CE; 3.69g. BMCRE SG105–7, CRB 69, Hill 1142 (S2), RIC 231, RSC 632. Obv: ANTONINVS – PIVS AVG BRIT; head laureate right. Rx: VICTO – RIAE BRIT; Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm. Commemorates victories declared in Britain. Scarce; fewer than thirty specimens in twenty-six hoards studied by P.V. Hill (thirteen in Reka Devnia [nine in Sofia, the four Caracalla VICTORIAE BRIT denarii in Varna seem to have the wrong Cohen numbers]). EF.

ex Curtis L. Clay Collection (Chicago)
ex Mario Ratto (Milan), acquired by C.L. Clay in March 1967
ex Giuseppe Mazzini Collection (Turin)

Reference:
Ing. G. Mazzini, Moneta Imperiali Romane, ed. Mario Ratto (Milan, 1957–8), vol. 3, pl. 37 (this coin illustrated).

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Geta. AR denarius, Rome mint, struck 210 CE; 19mm, 3.11g, 6h; BMCRE —, CRB —, Hill —, RIC —, RSC —. Obv: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT; man’s laureate head right, bearded. Rx: VICTORI–AE BRIT; Victory seated left on shields, holding shield on right knee and palm. Commemorates victories declared in Britain. Very rare mule; CNG states, “this reverse type is unknown on coins of Geta. It is known, however, for aurei of Caracalla (RIC IV 174). As the reverse die is worn, it is possible that the minters felt the die was too deteriorated to continue producing aurei, but sufficient for striking denarii.” According to Curtis Clay, “only one other is known to me, in my collection, from different dies, much less fine, ex G&N, eBay, 19 March 2011.”

ex Dr. J.S. Vogelaar Collection

 

I do have a great fondness for the portraiture of Septimius Severus - and for that of his sons Caracalla and Geta - especially this Victory over Britannia series. It took me a little while to complete this ensemble - now some of my favorite Coins.


RIC Vol. IV, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, Denarius, No. 335
Obverse: Septimius Severus, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: Victory seated left writing on shield
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT


RIC Vol. IV, CARACALLA, Denarius, No. 231a
Obverse: Caracalla, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: winged Victory advancing right holding trophy
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT


RIC Vol. IV, GETA, Denarius, No. 91
Obverse: Geta, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: Victory standing left holding wreath and palm branch
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT

 

she/that portrait would win 1st place in a beauty contest

 

Very nice Coins @benhur767

 

Handsome ensemble. That center coin, Victory with Trophy, is tough to find with a well-struck Victory.

 

Posting error, sorry.

 

I think this is my favorite portrait on a Roman coin I own.



Plautilla. Augusta, AD 202-205. AR Denarius

Struck under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, AD 202-203. O: Draped bust right R: Concordia standing left, holding patera and scepter. RIC IV 363a, Rome mint. 18 mm, 3.7 g.

 

If we're talking Gallienus, here's my favorite portrait:


Gallienus, AD 253-268
Roman billon Antoninianus; 4.40 g; 23.5 mm
Uncertain eastern mint (Göbl attributes to Samosata), AD 255-256
Obv: IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, both ribbons behind
Rev: RESTITVT ORIENTIS, Tyche, left, presenting wreath to emperor, right, who holds spear in left
Refs: RIC 448; Göbl 1685m; RSC 902; Cohen 903; RCV 10341; Hunter p. xlvii

If we're talking favorite portraits overall, this would be on my short list:


Agrippina I, wife of Germanicus, 14 BC - AD 33
Roman AE Sestertius 27.92 gm, 34.8 mm, 7 h
Rome mint. Struck under Claudius, 42-54 AD
Obv: AGRIPPINA M F GERMANICI CAESARIS, bare-headed and draped bust right. Rev: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P around large SC.
Refs: RIC I 102 (Claudius); BMCRE 219 (Claudius); Cohen 3.

 

Great coins Z! Provincials are welcome and yours has great a portrait!

TIF, that Lucilla is da bomb! Here is an attractive Lucilla sestertius.

 

Here is a RR Roma portrait I am fond of.
O: Helmeted head of Roma right, circle in square behind
Rx: Victory in triga right, T MAL AP CL Q VR in exergue


Fantastic portraits everyone!

 

@zumbly, that Decius is luscious! Anyway, I’ve shown all of these before, but I think these are my favorite portraits in my collection.


Obverse: Bareheaded bust left, TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P
Reverse: Minerva, helmeted, advancing right, holding a shield with her left hand and brandishing a javelin with her right, S C in fields
Struck at Rome 50-54 AD, 29mm, 10.94g, RIC 116

I really like this Domitian. You can’t really see it in the photo, but it is very high relief, which I like.


Domitian as Caesar, denarius
Obv: CAESAR AVG DOMITIANVS, laureate bust right
Rev: COS IIII, Pegasus stepping right
18mm, minted at Rome in 76 AD, RIC 238

And for a late Roman, this Arcadius has an impressive amount of detail. It is badly in need of a new photo, especially the reverse, as well as a suitable companion Honorious:

 

I think this is the first time I’m seeing your pics of that Lucilla. Even more beautiful!

 

Three of my personal favourites.


Vespasian
AR Denarius, 3.24g
Uncertain Western Mint, 69-70 AD
RIC 1345 (R2). BMC - . RSC - .
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVGVSTV; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: LIBERTAS PVBLICA; Libertas stg. l., with pileus and rod
Ex Pecunem 41, 6 March 2016, lot 675.



Titus
AR Denarius, 2.87g
Rome mint, 80 AD
RIC 112 (C2). BMC 72. RSC 309.
Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P; Dolphin coiled around anchor
Ex Berk 143, 18 May 2005, lot 177.




Domitian
AR Denarius, 3.35g
Rome mint, 87 AD
RIC 511 (C). BMC 107. RSC 213.
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VI; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IMP XIIII COS XIII CENS P P P; Minerva stg. l., with spear (M4)