I've always had a thing for facing busts and standing facing figures on ancients. Why so few on ancient coins? Was it easier to create the likeness from the side rather than head on? I get the ruler/heroic like poses. It just seems like there should have been more. Please share your forward facing coins! Standing facing Aegae, Aeolis. AE16. Athena/Zeus Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right / AIΓAEΩN. Rev: Zeus standing facing, holding eagle and sceptre, three monograms in left field. Macedonia, Stobi. Septimius Severus AE27 Serapis facing Obv. SEVERVS - PIVS AVG. Septimius Severus bust right. Rev. [MV]NICIPIVM - STOBEN[SI] - VM or similar. Serapis standing, facing, right arm raised. Left arm holding snake and hems of his garment. Bust/head facing. SATRAPS OF CARIA. Hekatomnos (392-376 BC). Tetartemorion. Mylasa. Obv: Head of roaring lion left. Rev: Head of Apollo facing slightly left. 6mm, 0.25 gm. Klein 507. Pisidia, Selge, c. 350-300 BC. AR Obol Obv: Helmeted head of Athena r. Rev: Gorgon facing sticking out tongue. 10mm. and 0.9gm. Aeolis, Grynion Æ12. Obv: Three-quarter facing head of Apollo, turned slightly left, wearing laurel wreath. Rev: ΓΥΡ, mussel shell. SNG Copenhagen 205; BMC 1. 3rd Century BC. Phokis, Federal Coinage. Phokian League Circa 371-357 BC Obv: Head of Athena facing.Rev: Phi within wreath. AE 13mm. Elymaian Kingdom. Orodes II. AE drachm Obv: Bearded bust facing wearing diademed tiara without crest, on right pellet inside crescent above anchor with double crossbar. Rev: Dashes. Early-mid 2nd century A.D.
"Sup" Meherdates (50 - 49 A.D.) AR Drachm O: Bust facing with moustache and very short beard, royal wart on brow, tiara with ear flaps and ornamented with a horn on each side, diadem loop and end extending on each side, flanked by two six-pointed stars. R: Blundered Greek legend forming square around, archer (Arsakes I) seated right on throne, bow in extended right hand, cross below seat, Ekbatana mint monogram below bow. 2.8g 21mm Ekbatana mint. Sunrise 417/418 (Meherdates); Sellwood 67.1 (Vonones II); Shore 368 (Vonones II)
Antiochus III Mint: Seleucia on the Tigris 220 to 204 BC Obvs: Young bust of Alexander the Great three quarters right wearing elephant headdress, dotted border. Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ on right ANTIOXOY on left, horse head left. Dotted border. AE 13x14mm, 2.34g Ref: SC 1182; HGC 9, 536(R2)
I totally agree about the appeal of facing portraits and standing figures (at least when they have facial features visible). They're often badly done so it's quite satisfying to find a nice one!! I especially like your Mylasa Apollo and the Gyrnion. Here are a bunch: Larissa drachm, facing nymph: The Carian dynasts/satraps often did a good job of facing Apollos: Maussolos: Pixodaros: Amisos under Mithradates VI, facing Medusa (head separate!): Rhodes didrachm, facing Helios: Selge, facing gorgoneion: Another facing gorgoneion, from Plautius Plancus: Antiochos I, facing Athena: Caracalla, Nikopolis, facing Telesphoros: And finally the only facing Roma I've seen on an VRBS ROMA FELIX with facial features visible:
I don't have many. Anyway, here they are Thessaly, Larissa, AE 20-22 400-344 BC Head of the nymph Larissa facing ΛΑΡΙ - Σ - ΑΙΩΝ parly retrograde, Horse trotting right 8.88 gr Ref : Sear # 2131 Theodosius II, AE3 - Constantinople mint, 1st officina DN THEODOSIVS AVG, Diademed and cuirassed bust of Theodiosius facing, holding spear on his right shoulder CONCORDI A AVG, Constantinopolis, seated, facing, holding spear and a victory on globe. In exergue CONSA 2,25 gr, 16 mm Ref : RC # 4296, LRBC # 2212 var, RIC X, 90 (R4) Q
What a fun thread, @ancientone! Great coins posted by everyone so far! This is my favorite with such a bust. Troas, Sigeion, c. 335 BC. Greek Æ 12.2 mm, 2.37 g, 5 h. Obv: Head of Athena facing slightly right, wearing triple crested helmet and necklace. Rev: ΣΙΓΕ, owl standing right, head facing; crescent to left. Refs: BMC 17.86,7-10; SNG von Aulock 7637; SNG Ashmolean 1214–6; SNG Copenhagen 496–8; Sear 4145.
Why so few facing busts? My guess is that it's because facing busts tend to look ugly after even a little wear, while profiles are still attractive even when worn down to little more than a silhouette. Anyway, a few more facing busts. Parthia, Artabanos IV (c.10-38 AD): Parthia, Phraates III (c.70-57 BC): Elymais, Kamnaskires-Orodes (early-mid 2nd century AD): Persis. Ardashir V/Sasanian, Ardashir I (early 200s-241 AD): same, but a bronze coin showing how facing busts are unattractive when worn: And an Arab-Sasanian coin:
Larissa Ar Drachm 404=370 BC Obv. Head of nymph Larissa 3/4 facing left. Rv. Horse grazing left. HGC 432 Lorber O5 R4a This coin illustrated. 6.06 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen In her previous essay on these coins printed in 1992 Lorber lists this coin as 28.5a part of her group Head type13 group. She subsequently decided that this group was earlier in the sequence though she still placed it in her overall Group 1. This image is enchanting with her large rather sad looking eyes and downturned mouth giving the whole image a sense of melancholy. What is remarkable is that only a few years after the striking of Kimon's masterpiece which was struck at Syracuse, another artist using a much smaller canvas creates an equally remarkable image. What is interesting as well is the ever so subtle hint that the nymph is turning her head to her right.
Constantine II from the mint at Antioch, a 3/4 facing bust. An astonished talented celator. This coin was sold by Stack’s in 1960 for $45.
Alas, I have been betrayed by Spellcheck. The above emperor is Constantius II, of course. And the celator was astonishingly talented. Whether he was also astonished, we have no way of knowing.
Constantine I ("the Great") A.D. 307-337 Ticinum mint, A.D. 312-313 RIC 133 Obv: CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Rev: SOLI INVI-C-TO COMITI - Sol, head facing forward, holding globe in left hand, raising right ST in exergue 20 mm, 3.8 g. I agree. As exemplified on the coin below: Theodosius II Augustus, A.D. 408-450 Gold Solidus Constantinople mint, A.D. 430-440 Obv: D N THEODO-SIVS P F AVG Rev: VOT XXX MVLT XXXX S - Constantinopolis, seated on throne, facing left, holding scepter and globus cruciger (cross on globe) CONOB in exergue; ✳ in right field RIC 275 21mm, 4.4g Leo I/Aelia Verina Augustus, A.D. 457-474/Augusta, A.D. 457-484 (Bronze) AE4 Constantinople mint? (Possibly Vandalic imitation) Obv: D N L-EO? Rev: [B/e] - Empress Verina, standing facing forward, holding globus cruciger (cross on globe) and transverse spear RIC (Leo) 714? 12mm, 1.1g