Ok, not generally purchasing coins from non-established sellers anymore on ebay but I promised a female student of mine a Faustina II and needed to find one identifiable and bronze for twenty dollars or so and quickly. So I found one that looks good to me. Could not find any matching on forgery network or Forum fakes reports. Please look and see if you notice anything amiss from the seller pics anyway besides condition. What I did discover on the fake reports was very few bronze fakes of Faustina II but a lot of denarii of Faustina senior which I noticed many on ebay that matched for about $25 and from American sellers. Just a heads-up on the Diva-Faustina with Augusta on the reverse denarii.(but most of you veterans of CT know better anyway) They look pretty good so watch out. 29 MM. 14.62 GRAM. CONDITION AS PICTURED. OBVERSE: DRAPED BUST OF FAUSTINA II RIGHT. REVERSE: CONCORDIA SEATED LEFT, HOLDING PATERA. AE AS. FAUSTINA JR. WIFE OF MARCUS AURELIUS. 161-175 AD. CONCORDIA REVERSE.
Looks like Crispina, her daughter-in-law, to me. Something like this: Were I to guess, I'd say Salus:
Wow- OK- I checked on CNG and it seemed to match this: Faustina Junior. Augusta, AD 147-175. Æ As (26.5mm, 11.61 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-164. Draped bust right / Concordia seated left, holding patera and resting elbow on small statuette of Spes. RIC III 1626 (Aurelius); MIR 18, 5-7b. VF, dark gray and brown patina. But you are right the obv. legend looks more like a CRI than an FAU? Well it cost $24. and I think the Crispina will do for this student. She hasn't done the research write-up yet on Faustina so I can switch it to Crispina. Do you think the cost is in an acceptable range? still? I don't not know much on costs for Crispina issues but I know there is little on regular sellers for less than $20 on Faustinas that are somewhat identifiable. Thanks for the info on this @Roman Collector - I needed the correct attribution.
Crispinas tend to be slightly more $$$ than F2. That price is relatively fair, especially since you're in a hurry. If you had time, you could be picker on quality. Here's a recent Crispina purchase of mine: Bruttia Crispina, Wife of Commodus, Empress 178-191 AD AE As, Struck 180-182 AD, Rome Mint Obverse: CRISPINA AVGVSTA, Draped bust right, hair knotted in a bun in back. Reverse: LAETITIA S-C, Laetitia standing left, holding wreath & rudder on globe. References: RIC 683; BMC 435; Cohen 28 Size: 25mm, 11.80g Some additional information that I have on the back of my attribution slip: Crispina came from an illustrious aristocratic family. Crispina married the sixteen-year-old Commodus in the summer of 178 and brought him, as a dowry, a large number of estates. These, when added to the Imperial holdings, gave him control of a substantial part of Lucanian territory. Like most marriages of young members of the nobiles, it was arranged by patres—in Crispina's case by her father and her new father-in-law, the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Crispina is described as being a graceful person with a susceptible heart. She did not seem to have any significant political influence over her husband during his bizarre reign. However, she was not exempted from court politics either, as her sister-in-law Lucilla, herself a former empress, was reportedly ambitious and jealous of the reigning empress Crispina due to her position and power. Crispina's marriage failed to produce an heir due to her husband's inability to produce offspring with her to ensure the dynastic succession. After ten years of marriage, Crispina was falsely charged with adultery by her husband and was banished to the island of Capri in 188, where she was later executed. After her banishment, Commodus did not marry again but took on a mistress, a woman named Marcia, who was later said to have conspired in his murder.
Totally different hairstyle from Faustina--the bun is too big around and too flat to be Faustina II. Moreover, on many issues, Crispina had a wave of hair across the forehead in front of the braids. I am 99.9% certain that's Crispina. Crispina's coins generally go for a bit higher price than Faustina's. It's a good price for such a coin.
yeah, the OP is a Crispina..i can read C R I (plus parts of other letters) on the obverse...but it's a nice coin for the price, but it's not F2..
