Share your tales of obsession! Good morning and TGIFF, fellow Faustina fanatics! Today you'll hear a tale of obsession. I'm not talking about the kind of obsession that will make you smile and tap your feet. I'm not talking about the kind of obsession that will make you smell good and feel confident. I'm talking about a Captain Ahab descending into madness type of obsession … … scouring the globe looking for "the one that got away." A few years back, after acquiring a handful of CONCORDIA denarii under Antoninus Pius, I started flyspecking them. I noticed several varieties in RIC. The denarii of Faustina II issued under Antoninus Pius with the CONCORDIA reverse legend.[1] You'll notice that Concordia is depicted standing or seated and each type may appear with either of two obverse inscriptions: FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL (inscription 3) or FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL (inscription 6). I had both obverse legend varieties for the Concordia standing version. I had both the Concordia standing, both head left and head right versions, and even the rare variety with the type 3 hairstyle! But every Faustina fanatic knows that you can't stop at this. You have to have EVERY variety. I had Concordia seated with Faustina's type 2 hairstyle. I had Concordia seated with Faustina's type 5 hairstyle – with the bust of Faustina facing left and right, to boot! But I didn't have the Concordia seated type with the FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL inscription. I knew I'd have my work cut out for me; Temeryazev and Makarenko give it a rarity rating of R2,[2] "very rare," with an estimated 10-24 examples in existence.[3] Varieties of the CONCORDIA seated denarii in Temeryazev and Makarenko. The coin was thus on my radar and I was on the lookout for one when browsing auction and fixed price listings. But I was not yet obsessed. Last summer, I saw one come up for auction on biddr – at a Polish auction house new to the bidding platform, Rzeszowski Dom Aukcyjny – lot 2502 in the firm's E-Auction 8. I bid aggressively and won! The one that got away! However, I didn't read the auction terms and conditions very well and didn't realize until after I had purchased it that the firm did not take credit cards or PayPal. They did take "bank transfers," however, and I tried Transferwise. It didn't work. I contacted the firm to get various bank addresses and routing numbers and such, and the firm tried hard to accommodate me, and we tried four different Transferwise transactions, all of which failed. I then went to my local bank to do an international wire transfer, but they were unsuccessful as well; the auction firm's bank kept rejecting my attempts. I'm not suggesting the auction firm isn't legit – I'm sure it is – but the US banking system is not equipped to transfer money to Polish banks. I told Rzeszowski Dom Aukcyjny that even my bank was unsuccessful at wiring them the money (sending photos of the bank receipts showing the transactions had been declined) and asked them to make an exception and to take a credit card. They wouldn't accept a credit card under any circumstances. I told them that I was sorry and that I couldn't pay. That's when the obsession started. That's when I got the Katy Perry earworm. That's when I turned into Ahab ... … seeking the one that got away. I looked at every coin of Faustina II that came up for sale at every auction and at V coins on at least a weekly basis thereafter, seeking another example. Week after week, month after month, I was disappointed, which only fueled my obsession. When AHOY!!!! An example came up for auction at the most recent Savoca Blue! There it was, with no description beyond it being a denarius of Faustina II and its weight and diameter. No catalog number. No mention of its rarity. No hype. No slab. I hoped nobody but me would recognize it for what it was – MOBY DICK, the WHITE WHALE, the elusive RIC 505a(6)! Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman AR denarius, 3.02 g, 18.1 mm, 6 h. Rome, late 151-early 152. Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII FIL, bare-headed and draped bust right. Rev: CONCORDIA, Concordia seated left, holding flower and resting elbow on cornucopiae set on globe under chair. Refs: RIC 502a(6); BMCRE 1080-81; Cohen 53; RCV –; Strack 502; CRE 169. I put in a very competitive bid and I proved to be the highest bidder! I'm a happy collector. For now. Until I become obsessed with another one that gets away! Notes ~~~ 1. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage. III, Spink, 1930, p. 93. 2. Temeryazev, S. A., and T. P. Makarenko. The Coinage of Roman Empresses. San Bernardino, CreateSpace, 2017, no. 169, p. 62. 3. Ibid., p. 6. I have been able to find eight museum specimens (including three in the Reka Devnia hoard) and an additional ten (including mine) that have been sold at auction in the past 20 years.
Call me Ishmael! Or Mike, whichever works. Thanks for sharing your Faustinian White Whale with us, RC. I have three of these FII Concordia type (including one seated), one a variation that you pointed out back in 2019. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-ii.343063/ I took new photos of them- this first one has some odd things going on with her hair in front - three spikes? Roman faux-hawk? My Beckmann knowledge is poor (despite now proudly owning his book): Faustina II Denarius (154-156 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right / CONCORDIA, Concordia seated left, holding flower and resting left arm on cornucopiae set on globe below seat. RIC 502a; RSC 54; Sear 4704. (3.00 grams / 17 mm) eBay Oct. 2013 Here's the variation (continuous reverse legends) - I am not sure where I got RIC 502Aa - I think I made this up. When I first got it, I thought she had some sort of Solar Disc over her head - seated Isis. But it's a filled-in O: Faustina II Denarius (154-156 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right / CONCORDIA, Concordia seated left, holding flower and resting left arm on cornucopiae set on globe below seat. RIC 502Aa (var.; see note) (3.02 grams / 17 mm) eBay July 2019 Note: Reverse legend is continuous on this specimen: "The British Museum has four examples (two of the five shown in the link have a different obverse legend & one is unpictured), BMC4, pp. 164-65. None of them have an unbroken reverse legend..." Roman Collector on Coin Talk re: this coin. July 21, 2019 Concordia standing - do I see pearls in her hair? The dates have not been updated to Beckmann standards yet: Faustina II Denarius (145-161 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed bust draped right / AVGVSTI PII FIL, Concordia draped standing left holding patera and cornucopia. RIC 496; Sear 4701; RSC 21. (3.24 grams / 15 mm) eBay Feb. 2019
Congratulations, RC, that's gotta feel great! But your taste in rare coins doesn't make up for your taste in cringey videos, just sayin'.
Very nice addition @Roman Collector ... Really nice toning! Here's my Concordia..You've seen it before. Faustina II Junior Silver Denarius 3.36g.,17mm, Rome mint, A.D. 154-156, Obverse. FAVSTINA AVG-PIIAVGFIL Draped bust of Faustina right, Reverse. CONC-O-RDIA, Concordia seated left, holding flower & resting left arm on cornucopiae set on globe below seat...(RCV 4704; RIC 502a)
Great addition, RC. The one you picked up has a better portrait than the one that slipped away. Worth the wait IMO.
Always feels good to get that girl that got away in the sack... or cabinet Very cool coin My first Faustina:
Nice capture @Roman Collector ! Your second auction actually yielded a bit better coin in my opinion. Congrats. The whole ordeal with trying to pay in the Polish auction must had been super frustrating. My Faustina Jr. is INCREDIBLY RARE for my Collection! It is the ONLY ONE that I have. FAUSTINA II / Jr RI Faustina Jr 161-175 CE Ar Denarius 17mm 3g Faustina II, wife of Marcus Aurelius and daughter of Antoninus Pius, struck under Antoninus Pius. FAVSTINA – AVGVST Draped bust of Faustina right AVGVSTI – PII FIL Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt. Ex: @Brian Bucklan
I also consider that your coin is better than the first one from Poland , congratulations ! I have a sestertius with the same legends and Concordia , unfortunetly very corroded. Faustina II(Antoninus Pius, 138-161), Sestertius, Rome, RIC 1374b FAVSTINA AVG ANTO - NINI AVG PII FIL, draped bust r., hair knotted behind, CONCOR - DIA, Concordia seated l., holding flower and resting l. elbow on chair; by elbow, cornucopiae on globe; in field, S - C.
