The coinage of Faustina II issued late in the reign of Antoninus Pius is characterized by the obverse inscription FAVSTINA AVGVSTA with the filiation AVGVSTI PII FIL moved to the reverse. The reverses of this series feature Concordia (AR and Æ), Diana (AV), Spes (AR and Æ), Venus Victrix (AR and Æ), Pietas (Æ), Pudicitia (Æ), and Salus (Æ). These deities and personifications are not explicitly labeled as such on the coins,[1] but are identified by their characteristic iconography and attributes. Mattingly[2] dates the series to c. 154-156 or 157; Strack to 156-158.[3] Sear dates the issue somewhat later, to 157-161,[4] despite the evidence set forth by Strack and Mattingly for an earlier date. Mattingly suggests the "issue, perhaps, balances the AVGVSTA reverses of Diva Faustina the Elder, and, in both cases, the Empress may seem to be expressed in her true character though the divine figures associated with her name on reverse."[5] This dupondius is a recent acquisition and features Salus seated. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman orichalcum dupondius, 11.69 g, 26.3 mm, 7 h. Rome, AD 154-157. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Salus seated left, feeding out of patera in right hand a snake coiled round altar and holding scepter in left. Refs: RIC 1391a; BMCRE p. 384*; Cohen 28; Strack 1331; Sear 4723. The coin is only known in the middle bronze denomination. It is easily mistaken for a similar issue, the SALVTI AVGVSTI reverse type issued later under Marcus Aurelius, such as this dupondius in the British Museum collection (BMCRE 993, p.542). Indeed, of the three middle bronze coins identified during a search for "RIC 1391," at acsearchinfo, two are misidentified. The coin is scarce. I have compiled an inventory of eight other specimens I could find from online and print sources: Strack notes one specimen in the Cabinet des Medailles in Paris and three in the Staatliches Münzkabinett in Munich. A specimen was sold by CHS Basel Numismatics on muenzauktion.com, March 2013, which is illustrated at Wildwinds. A specimen appeared at Busso Peus E-Auction 6, lot 321, 13 Jan. 2018; this same coin appeared Leu Web Auction 4, lot 850, 24 June 2018. The ANS has two specimens in their collection. The coin raises a few questions: Why might it have been issued only in the middle bronze denomination? Does the appearance of Salus refer to any specific historical event, such as a health crisis in the imperial family or in the empire at large? Were any examples of this coin found in the Reka Devnia or other published hoards? Post anything you feel is relevant, of course! ~~~ 1. Because all coins bear AVGVSTI PII FIL on the reverse. 2. Mattingly, Harold, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. London, BMP, 1968, p. xliv. Elsewhere, Mattingly and Sydenham note, "A recent find of Roman gold in Egypt suggests that the omission of this title [AVGVSTI PII FIL] dates from not later than AD 156-157." See Mattingly, Harold and Sydenham, Edward A. The Roman imperial coinage, vol. 3: Antoninus Pius to Commodus, London, Spink, 1986, p. 3, n. 3. 3. As noted by Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 340 and Dinsdale, Paul H. The Reign of Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus AD 161-180. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 50. 4. Sear, David R. Roman Coins and Their Values II: The accession of Nerva to the overthrow of the Severan dynasty AD 96 - AD 235, London, Spink, 2002, p. 285. 5. Mattingly, op. cit., p. xciii.
Merry Christmas, @Roman Collector Nice coin, and great information. It is always a joy to read your Faustina Friday articles. I think having AVGVSTA in the obverse, while keeping AVGVSTI PII FIL to the reverse probably has some sort of political reasons behind. My Faustina Jr Sestertius has a similar reverse legend. Faustina Junior. Struck circa 154-157 AD AE sestertius Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt 23.96 g, 29-30 mm References: RIC III 1371 (Pius); Sear 4711
Very nice coin, @happy_collector! That reverse type was only issued in the denarius and sestertius denominations. I only have the denarius version:
I didn’t know anything about this type since I’m not a Faustina specialist. Now I do. Well done, sir.
I have two similar middle bronzes, both apparently copper asses, in my collection. It's always interesting to compare details between different specimens of the same type. All specimens shown or linked to by RC above show Salus holding a transverse scepter with her lowered left forearm. One of mine is similar, but the other shows a variant: the scepter is vertical, so not intersecting with Salus' body or throne, and she holds it with her raised not lowered left forearm. This is a difference I just noticed for the first time, though I acquired the coin in 1990, from Lanz Graz who were selling off the remainders of the extensive Hohenkubin collection of Roman middle bronzes. Two other minor differences: the back of Salus' throne is usually visible above her shoulders, but is sometimes omitted; and the letters S C can be placed either in the exergue or in the lower field, left and right of the snake on altar and Salus' throne respectively. Date of the introduction of the obv. legend FAVSTINA AVGVSTA according to my ordering of the rev. types of the denarius coinage: about August 156, two-thirds of the way through Antoninus' TR P XIX. At about the same time a similar Salus seated type to Faustina's, but omitting the goddess' scepter, was introduced on Antoninus' denarii with the rev. legend TR POT XIX COS IIII, and the same type was later continued with the date TR POT XX. Possibly these two Salus types were contemporaneous, meaning that Faustina's asses could be dated from Antoninus' denarii to the same years 156-7. But this is just a possibility; I have not been able to reconstruct from solid evidence the order and exact chronology of Faustina's AVGVSTI PII FIL rev. types. Another possible idea: New Year's asses were sometimes struck with their own rev. types, not shared with other denominations. RC, are you sure your example is a dupondius rather than an As? I think Strack notes three specimens of Faustina's Salus type in Munich and one in Paris, rather than the other way around. I am unaware of any hoards containing many of Faustina's Salus asses; the Sacred Spring deposit at Bath contained only one specimen.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise about other examples of this issue and your conclusions about dating the issue. Not sure. It's hard to tell because in some lighting it looks brassy, whereas in others, it looks more coppery. D'oh! Switched around in my brain in the course of writing the post. Thanks for the correction. I've edited the post so as to avoid confusing others in the future.
