Left facing Ladies

SINISTER WOMEN of the ROMAN EMPIRE


RI URBS ROMA 223-336 CE Romulus Remus She-wolf S R Alexandria mint AE 15mm 1.5g RIC VIII 8 C2 Rare


RI commem AE Follis Urbs ROMA She-wolf Rom Rem Stars RIC VII Lyons 242



RI Commem Urbs Roma AE Follis Thessalonika 330-333 CE She-Wolf Rom-Rem stars S 16516R



Rome VRBS ROMA commem 330-331 CE Æ reduced centenionalis, 16mm, 2.5g, 12h; Trier mint, CE 330-331 She-wolf RIC VII 529

 

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EXCELLENT point, John! But since the Romans eventually eradicated them from the planet, perhaps I can take some liberties using a Roman label for Left on the Carthage Lady!

How about a SINISTER MALE from CARTHAGE?


Carthage Zeugitana 4th-3rd C BC AE 15 Male Hd Horse Prancing SNG Cop 120

 

Here are a few!

Rhegium tetradrachm:



Knossos stater:


Kimon dekadrachm:


Carthage trihemistater:

 

Nice series Robin

Kore :



Tanit :



Vesta :



Q

 

Left facing Roma is an under strike on these.

 

..wow..i'd never given it much thought, but i don't have any LFL of Rome...to my knowledge, i only have 2 and they are Punic from Carthage/ Sicily..

 

Stunning, AncientJoe!

 

I don't have any left-facing women, unfortunately. Great coins all!

 

SINISTER LADIES of the Greek World

Ah! The LADY is to the Left of this Januform!

Troas Tenedos late 5th-early 4th C BCE AR Obol 8mm 0.60g Janiform hd female-male - Labrys within incuse square SNG Ash 1235 HGC 6 387



Sicily Kamarina AE 15mm 3.4g 420-405 BCE Athena Owl Lizard 3 dots Sear Gk 1063



Sicily Syracuse 317-289 BC AE 23 Hemilitron Agathokles Kore Bull Dolphin



Sicily Syracuse ca 410 BC AE 19 Athena Wreath Hippocamp



Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-269 BC AE 15 Persephone Bull RIGHT Rare


NON-ROMAN - ITALIA / MARSIC CONFEDERATION Sinister Women


Marsic denarius 89 BCE ITALIA Bovianum-Asernia-Samnia HN Italy 407 Sear 230 SCARCE



Marsic Confederation denarius 90-88 BCE ITALIA Italia-Corfinium Oath Ceremony over pig Sear 227 SCARCE

 

ah, but she's also to the right 9_9..so i call it a draw^^...

 

Queen Philistis was sinister:


Philistis, wife of Hieron II.
Greek AR 5 litrae.
Syracuse 270-230 BCE, 4.46 gm, 18.1 mm.
Obv: Diademed and veiled head, l., palm branch behind.
Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑΣ ΦΙΛΙΣΤΙΔΟΣ, Nike driving biga to left, E in l. field.
Refs: SNG ANS 893; SNG III (Lockett) 1017; Forrer 196.

 

Wow, what a pile on thread, and so quickly! But to get back to the question at hand, why left? Although I am certain some specialists have their take on the matter I will offer what I can.

Iconography was of supreme importance. Coin designs were carefully thought out and executed (with few exceptions, one of which will be illustrated below). Unfortunately we will never know the real reason behind left facing portraits. One can simply speculate as to their importance and meaning. While some types are certainly not rare it must have been a special occasion when one was issued. Who can tell?

But there are some rare occasions when it is a simple mistake by the celator. There are a few of these types from Antioch which were engraved improperly, probably by the same celator (this one is mine):

 

SICILY, SYRACUSE, HIERON II
AE19
OBVERSE: Head of Persephone left, wreathed with corn, wearing earring and necklace, poppy head behind head
REVERSE: Bull butting left; above, club above IA; IE in exergue
Struck at Syracuse, Sicily 275-265 BC
5.71g; 19mm
BMC. Sicily, p 219, 624

 

GR8 LFLs AZR - 1 LF Roma here and 3 LFM, but I shan't sully your thread with ♂

VRBS ROMA, helmeted and mantled bust of Roma left (RIC-VII-247)​

 

While my coin below only barely qualifies due to its left facing Domna, I am posting it here in comparison to Ken's mirror image error. My coin is much more common with Serapis facing right but the one faces left and the E denomination letter is also reversed. However the encircling legend was done correctly.

I am aware only of one exception to this rule. In c.347 AD Constantius II and Constans issued the first FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins in three denominations. The largest and smallest coins (Falling Horsemen and Phoenix) always have right facing portraits but the middle denomination, which came in more than one reverse, regularly faced left which distinguished them from the other two. Unfortunately, there are no female FTR coins.

 

Left facing portrait dies were in fact prepared for most empresses of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. These were created by the best engravers and often exclusively reserved for Bronze Medallions that are all extremely rare now. Here are some examples illustrated by Gnecchi:

Faustina I, Faustina II, Lucilla, Crispina:


Julia Domna, Julia Soaemias, Julia Paula, Orbiana:


Julia Mamaea, Otacilia Severa, Magnia Urbica:

 

As with so many things I dabbled with these.

Sabina Denarius

Obv:- SABINA AVGVSTA HADRIANI AVG P P, diademed and draped bust left
Rev:- VESTA, Vesta seated left holding palladium and scepter
Minted in Rome. A.D. ???
Reference:– BMC III 902. RIC II 398. RSC 14



Faustina Junior denarius

Obv:– FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG P II F, Draped bust left, hair pulled back and tied in bun behind neck
Rev:– PVDICITIA, Pudicitia, veiled, standing left, sacrificing over altar
Minted in Rome, Undated. A.D. 161-164
Reference:– BMCRE Group V. 1094 (Pius) citing H. M. Treasury (Allerton Bywater Hoard, 1924). RIC III 508d (Pius, Scarce, citing BM)

 

A favorite of mine which I do miss terribly (but would have been a fool to turn down the offer made!)


Cilicia, obol of one of those mysterious Persian satraps

Similar:


Some which are still with me

Kelenderis


Ionia, Phokaia


Himera


And of course

 

Thank you for showing the Gnecchi illustrations. If these portraits were created left facing for these medallions- it would be unlikely they would have considered the portrait left unlucky.

 

This coin reminded me of this lefty thread - here's one more left facing portrait - this time a Roma from a 137 BC RR denarius with dark and iridescent toning that is not readily captured in the image. According to Sear this was a departure from denarius tradition in facing left, the first appearance of Apollo on a denarius, and the positions of ROMA and the moneyer’s name are reversed. Sydenham also notes the variation in this type of the necklace and other details as unusual.

M. Baebius Q.f. Tampilus, Rome, 137 BC.
AR Denarius
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma left, wearing necklace of beads, behind TAMPIL upwards; before X
Rev: Apollo driving quadriga right, holding bow and arrow, with reins in left hand, and branch in right hand. Below ROMA, in exergue, M BAEBI QF
Ref: Crawford 236/1c; RSC Baebia 12