Here is a recent purchase that, at least in my eyes, deserves a short write-up: Julia Soaemias, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 218–222 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG, bust of Julia Soaemias, draped, r., hair waved and turned up low at the back. Rev: VENVS CAELESTIS; Venus, diademed, draped, seated l., holding apple in extended r. hand and sceptre in l. hand; at feet, child. 19mm, 3.39g. Ref: RIC IV Elagabalus 243. Ex Artemide, eLive auction 17, lot 506. I very much like Severan denarii, and Julia Soaemias has been one of the few Severan women that I didn't yet have a portrait of. As if that weren't reason enough to buy this coin, she also is a fascinating historical figure. Julia Soaemias was a niece of Julia Domna, the wife of the emperor Septimius Severus. That didn't exactly make her the obvious next empress. But after the assassination of Caracalla in 217 AD, there was no male Severan heir left. Julia Soaemias and her mother Julia Maesa seized the opportunity, defeated the interim emperor Macrinus, and installed Julia Soaemias' son Elagabalus on the imperial throne. Elagabalus' reign unfortunately was successful only in scandalizing the Roman aristocracy. Julia Soaemias appears to have tried to exercise as much influence as possible during this time. According to Cassius Dio, she was the only women in Roman history who ever entered the senate "as though she were a member" (Historia Augusta Elag. 4.2). That didn't prevent the situation from escalating. When a bloody conflict within the Severan family ensued in 222 AD, Julia Soaemias and her son were murdered. The public anger at Elagabalus also carried over to his mother: "Julia Soemias is the only empress recorded whose corpse was desecrated publicly as an act of poena post mortem" (Varner: Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture [Leiden/Boston: Brill 2004], 195). Please post your coins of Julia Soaemias and her relatives!
A very nice coin & write-up. I'll skip the relatives for now -- there are so many! -- but here's my one Julia Soaemias, with an obverse much better than the reverse: Julia Soaemias (mother of Elagabalus). AR Denarius 220-221 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust right, IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG / Rev. Venus standing facing, head left, holding apple & scepter; large star in right field, VENVS CAELESTIS.* RIC IV-2 241 (Elagabalus); RSC III 8b. 18 mm., 2.85 g. * Roman equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite Ourania, who was associated in Greco-Roman mythography with the eastern goddess Astarte (a/k/a Ishtar, Ashtaroth, etc.)
Julia Soaemias (218-222 A.D.) AR Denarius O: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG, Draped bust right. R: VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus diademed seated left on throne, apple in right, scepter in left, child at her feet. Rome 3.6g 19.6mm RIC 243 RSC 14 SRCV 7720 Julia Soaemias (219 - 222 A.D.) Ar Denarius O: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVGVSTA, draped bust right. R: IVNO REGINA, Juno standing right, holding scepter & palladium. Rome Mint 19mm 2.64g RIC 237, RSC 3, BMC 41
Much nicer than my own denarius of this type - I especially like the reverse, which looks to have a bonus die clash too! Here's an As of the same type:
Just to be different here I'll show a Juno reverse also distinct from using the obverse with AVGVSTA spelled out. Oops, Mat pushed his button first. Yes, Soaemias was the mother of the emperor but the power in town was her mother Julia Maesa. Her main claim to fame is being able to change grandson emperors when the first one was 'disappointing'. It is somewhat appropriate that the Eastern mint honored her FECVNDITAS for having a spare for her grand-heir.
I can't resist posting "the spare" as Caesar ! Issued when Grandma was clearing the way for SA. It's amazing she convinced Elagabalus to accept him as his Caesar, given Elagabalus's quite accurate suspicions that his throne was being targeted. "INDVLGENTIA" fits this situation pretty well. It was a bad idea for him to be so forgiving!
The other Indulgentia that comes to mind is when Julia Domna was forgiving Caracalla for murdering Geta. INDVLG FECVNDAE - In this case we might read this as she was being forgiven for producing a spare who turned out to be unnecessary. Except for Domna, all people who mourned the loss of Geta were being executed.
What a great type! I'm tempted to build a set of all the available Indulgentias... it would be a pretty small set excluding minor variations. Hadrian, A. Pi, the Severan Dea Celestis issues, your Caracalla, my SA, a scarce Maximinus, Gallienus, Macrianus & Quietus, a scarce Florian... any others? If so, they're pretty rare.
Very nice, @Orielensis! You may be interested in this article I wrote about Venus Caelestis and your coin. I have also written about the many listed in RIC that are unofficial or ancient counterfeits. There are only a few officially issued denarii of Julia Soaemias: RIC 237 IVNO REGINA, Juno standing r. RIC 241 VENVS CAELESTIS standing l. --without star in field (RSC 2d) --with star in r. field (RSC 8) --with star in l. field (RSC 8a) RIC 243 VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus seated l., child at her feet I believe the denarii with the following reverse types are unofficial: ANNONA AVG, IVNO (Juno stg l.), PIETAS AVG, PVDICITIA, SAECVLI FELICITAS, and the three VESTA types. With the exception of the Venus standing type without the star, all of the official ones have been posted, so I will post these crude imitative issues of Soaemias and Elagabalus. They were likely produced in Sarmatia. I have previously written an article about them. Elagabalus AD 218-222, 3.28 g, 18.2 mm, 6 h. Fourrée Denarius, imitative issue, (after AD 250?). Unknown (Sarmatian?) mint. Obv: ΛNTONINVS PIVS FEL ΛVG; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: CONCORDIΛ; Two standards between two aquilae; NILIT in exergue (sic, the N backwards and replacing the correct M, and the L looking like an upside-down T). Refs: imitation of: RIC 187; BMC 275; C 15; Thirion-344. Notes: See CNG E-Auction 281, June 20, 2012, lot 369 (same dies). Julia Soaemias, AD 218-222. Fourrée Denarius, imitative issue, (after AD 250?). Unknown (Sarmatian?) mint, 3.12 g, 18.6 mm, 5 h. Obv: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: ΛESIA (sic), Vesta seated left, holding simpulum and scepter. Refs: cf. RIC 247-248; BMCRE p. 539, f (ancient forgery); RSC 22a. Notes: See CNG E-Auction 281, June 20, 2012, lot 373 (same dies). Correctly identified in the BM catalogue as a hybrid with a reverse of Julia Domna, although the authors of RIC accept it without comment as an official type of Soaemias.
My only Julia Soaemias: Julia Soaemias Denarius (218-222 A.D.) Rome Mint IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG, draped bust right / VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus seated left, holding apple and scepter; at her feet, child standing right. RIC 243; BMC 55-60; RSC 14. (3.53 grams / 19 x 18 mm) "...the coin’s reverse depicts Venus Caelestis, the Roman equivalent of Carthaginian goddess Dea Caelesis, who was wedded to Elagabal (courtesy of Elagabalus) as part of a parallel ritual wherein the young Augustus married the noblewoman Annia Faustina. This ceremony intended – and failed - to ameliorate the chaotic imperial situation." www.collectors-society.com
We don´t have a Sestertius yet, so here is mine: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG / VENVS CAELESTIS S C Sestertius, Rome 220 A.D. 30,20 mm / 17,78 gr RIC 406; BMCRE 378; Cohen 18; Sear 7725; Banti 5 (30 specimens)
Orielensis, Nice score & interesting write-up ! I recently sold a denarius of Julia Soaemias at CNG 483, pictured below. The coin was a needle sharp strike & was blessed with attractive iridescent toning. It sold for $324.50 ! Julia Soaemias, AD 220-221, Rome Mint. AR Denarius: 2.59 gm, 18 mm, 6 h. Reverse: Venus holding apple & long scepter, VENVS CAELESTIS. RIC IV E241. NGC AU*, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5
JULIA SOAEMIAS AR Denarius OBVERSE: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG, draped bust right REVERSE: VENVS CAELESTIS, Venus seated left, holding scepter, extending her hand to Cupid standing before her Struck at Rome, 218-222 AD 2.96g, 20mm RIC 243
Thanks for the kind words and for showing your coins, everyone! That is a very desirable and historically interesting coin that many collectors would overlook. Severus Alexander as Caesar is by no means easy to find. I'm jealous! Looking at your previous thread and and the examples of the presumably unofficial types one can find online, I have to agree with you. That also means that all official denarii types for Julia Soemias have been shown in this thread. (There are, of course, also the scarce bronze issues such as the as shown by @Severus Alexander and @Julius Germanicus ' fantastic sestertius.) That's certainly right –but one might add in favor of Julia Maesa that Elagabalus' catastrophic conflict with Roman aristocratic society threatened the lifes of herself and the rest of her family, too. If she hadn't at least tolerated the coup against Elagabalus, she, Julia Mamaea, and Severus Alexander would on the long run probably have been brought down together with him. Still, it's hard to see her as a perfect example of pietas: Julia Maesa, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 218–222 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA MAESA AVG, bust of Julia Maesa, draped, r., hair turned up low at the back. Rev: PIETAS AVG, Pietas standing facing, head l. raising both hands, burning altar to l. 20mm, 3.65g. Ref: RIC IV.2 Elagabalus 266.
