So I finally have Aquilia Severa, Vestal Virgin, 2nd & 4th wife of Elagabalus: Obv: IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG. Draped bust right. Rev: CONCORDIA. Concordia standing left, holding double cornucopia and patera over lighted altar to left; star in left field. RIC 225 (Elagabalus). Weight: 3.34 g. Diameter: 20 mm. The coin isn't perfect, but the hammer price in the auction was far better than the cost of an equivalent coin on vcoins. I'm happy to add Aquilia to the stable. Now the only person in Elagabalus' entourage that i need is Annia Faustina. I'm definitely looking for her right now, and willing to arm wrestle for the prize Please post your coins of Aquilia Severa and Annia Faustina!
Congrats, nice buy! It has great detail and I think you got it for good price. I had it on my watchlist, but after the auction got postponed last week, I completely forgot that it was closing yesterday.
Greg, nice new addition to your collection. My Aquilia. Doug H. Could not afford a denarius for Annia, so had to settle for a provincial.
I hope to someday have at least one of each of the wives of Elagabalus. Here's a provincial of Aquilia Severa: EGYPT, Alexandria. Aquilia Severa regnal year 5 of Elagabalus (221/2 CE) BI tetradrachm, 23.5 mm, 11.6 gm Obv: IOVΛIAAKVΛIACEVHPACEB; draped bust right Rev: Head of Zeus Ammon right, wearing solar disc; L - E Ref: Emmett 3025.5 (R3); Milne 2850; Dattari 4186; Geissen 2376 While the tetradrachms of Aquilia Severa appear less often than denarii, the opposite is true for Annia Faustina, although none of the latter's coins are easy to find--or cheap .
Very nice. And yep I note an Annia Faustina tetradrachm on vcoins for €2650! Tbh if I'm spending that kind of money, I'll be getting Antinous first!
Whenever this comes up I warn to be careful and avoid a coin like this Provincial from Diocaesarea showing Faustina I, wife of Marcus Aurelius. Her name was Annia Faustina, too, and that is what this legend reads.
So how do we tell the difference between the Annia Faustinas on provincials? There's a lot of variety in styles of provincial coins, and tbh I don't yet have the skill to know the difference between a 2nd century provincial, and an early 3rd century provincial. I'm guessing a key difference is in the hair-styles of the two ladies?
In the case of my coin, the portrait is clearly older but in general I'd say look up the type in a reference other than that of the person selling the coin. For a shocker, type in Annia Faustina in acsearch and see the huge number of coins of the earlier and common Faustinas that come up because one dealer gives her name as Annia every time.
Congrats on your sweet new addition, Smeag ... hey, I thought that you were saving-up for a trip somewhere?
