A new variant for Julia Domna Hilaritas.

Just want to share this interesting article from “le bulletin numismatique” about a denarius of Julia Domna sold not that long ago. Here is the coin :


IVLIA-AVGVSTA
HILARI-TAS
Rome 208 AD
18.5 mm, 3.38 g, 12h
RIC 557 var.
Hilaritas standing left, holding a thunderbolt in right hand & cornucopiae in left hand,
a child on each side.

So what’s different on this variant ? First, instead of the usual long palm in hand, Hilaritas is holding a thunderbolt ( maybe a lighting or a fulmen, I’m not sure of the exact translation for “foudre” ). The child on the left, instead of grabbing the inexistant palm, holds a “serpent like” object, probably the hem of her skirt. The thunderbolt is usually a masculine attribute. Very often Jupiter is holding it, but we see sometimes Minerva under Domitian and once Dea Caelestus under Septimius severus ( RIC 266 ).
The same type has also been struck for the young Caracalla ( RIC 130 ). So it is very special to notice the thunderbolt on a Julia Domna coin.

The 2 children had often been considered to be Caracalla and Geta. But let’s not forget that this denarius is dated from 208 AD. At that time, Caracalla was 20 years old and already co-emperor and Geta was 19 and Caesar.....
It would be very surprising if they were still represented as small children on coinage.
Perhaps the 2 boys holding the hem of a skirt may symbolize that Julia Domna was a mother for the people of the empire ( a mater populi ). So that’s the new variant for the empress, but some scholars think it should be in fact a new type of reverse.

Feel free to post your Julia Domna coins !

 

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The usual reverse type:



A different type of HILARITAS reverse altogether:



And a dupondius:

 

Interesting write up and sasweet coin. So when she applauds it's a real thunder clap!?
LOVE me some Julia D...but don't tell Septi

 

Julia and I have parted ways, but I did love this coin!

 

That's a cool reverse @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix !

My only JD denarius is kind of vanilla.

 

Nice coins! i Just recently picked this up. The Feminate portrait seems more rare and drew me to this one. ROMAN IMPERIAL DENARIUS JULIA DOMNA SILVER 193-217 AD RIC 548

 

Fantastic detailed coin Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, my only Julia shares the obverse with her son Caracalla.
Julia Domna with Caracalla, Marcianopolis. City gate or Triumphal arch, Septimius Severus, Geta, Caracalla and Julia Domna standing on top. AE 28, 11.41gm, Varbanov 1042.

 

I must admit that I have not studied the style of the Rome mint from this period but the style seems quite unusual compared to what I am used to seeing. Perhaps I am simply too focussed on the oriental styles.

 

Great coin @Ancient Aussie ! I don't have a coin of domna yet. Putting all of the family members on a coin reminds me of this portrait with Geta scratched out.

 

Interesting find! I will now be on the look out
I do have one or two JD's- but only this one for Hilaritas:


I do have a coin of JD with Venus reverse that has some small differences.

Julia Domna, Venus IVLIA AVGVSTA
Draped bust right
VENVS VICTRIX
Venus standing left, helmet in right, palm frond in left, resting elbow on column, cuirass right, Cupid holding shield at feet left
RIC 581 var (no Cupid or cuirass); . C. - . BMC - . Hill 1199 var; RSC 218 var (no Cupid)

 

I think you are missing the effects of being older and having one of your kids kill the other. This style strikes me as normal for late Julia. There are many interesting styles for her early and late. Of the late ones, I like this sestertius with almond eye. The reverse is a double struck mess.

 

Here's my humble one with Juno on reverse and a peacock at her feet.

 

Here's another HILARITAS of Julia Domna.
Augusta, A.D. 193-217

Mint: Edit - Rome

Struck: A.D. 196-203
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right
Rev: HILARITAS, Hilaritas standing left, holding palm and cornucopia.
Size: 16.8-17.8 mm, 3.08g
Ref: RIC 639 (S. Severus); RSC 72

 

Are you convinced on your mint allocation to Laodicea?

 

Hi @maridvnvm thank you for asking, I would always say "my working hypothesis" rather than "convinced" - especially as new evidence turns up all the time. I have a lot to learn about how to recognize mints when they aren't clearly marked on the coin. I need all the advice I can get and I am always grateful for input.

There are references to both Rome and Laodicea for a Hilaritas with cornucopia, so ultimately style is how I chose Laodicea (something I am not confident in and trying to get better at seeing).

RIC (vol IV part 1, 1936): Hilaritas with cornucopia minted in Rome (RIC 556 - 196-211) and in Laodicea "the great rival of Antioch, Laodicea ad Mare, which favored Severus and as a reward was made by him capital of Syria" (RIC 639 196-202) which is in Plate IX-16:


David Sear Roman Coins and Their Values II: lists three Hilaritas under Sept Severus 6585-6587 - only one with "cornucopiae instead of scepter" == RIC 639 Laodicea AD 198 (this makes me wonder - is there someway to determine a more precise date?).

ERIC II: shows 4 Hilaritas Types (58-61) with 58 the only one that is cornucopia without children - and 4 possible mints. The listing of denarii shows two (93 from Laodicea ref RIC 639, and 94 from Roma ref RIC 556)


ACSearch: browsing for style, the ones that look to me like mine are frequently linked to RIC 639 (S. Severus); RSC 72 e.g. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4412875

OCRE: http://numismatics.org/ocre comparing examples of the two mints and the style leans toward Laodicea for me, but if anything I had some doubt between Rome and Loadicea looking at the small number of examples.

Any suggestions or other thoughts on how to approach unmarked mints more confidently or other resources are much appreciated.

 

I would suggest looking at more examples and making another assessment .

 

Thanks - what do you see?

 

I don't see Laodicean style.