Celebrate the females of Imperial Rome (A variety of pick and post)

Etruscilla (249-251), AR tetradrachm, Antioch.
Not my coin, but a fantastic cleaning operation by a good friend of mine !

Next : Gordian III

 

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Gordian Ill's administration was placed in the hands of the Senate,
palace officials and especially his mother. He remained under their
power until 241, when a new figure of prominence emerged -
TIMESITHEUS. This PREFECT OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARD took upon
himself all matters of importance, and so completely did Gordian trust
him that he married his daughter, Tranquillina.
Anybody have her?

 

Yes I have, but I will not answer to my own request, it would not be fair. I'm sure somebody else has her.

 

Tranquillina is tough as far as imperial mints. Here are a few provincials.



Also, it might be easier for everyone if we keep a running tally of which emperors have been used.

Theodosius I
Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus Pius
Gallienus
Severus Alexander
Diocletian
Hadrian
Lucius Verus
Claudius (not Gothicus)
Commodus
Philip I
Trajan Decius
Gordian III

I'll choose Elagabalus. Unfortunately for the women associated with him, there are lots of choices.

 

Three women, four marriages:

He started with Julia Paula, who looks like a determined Severide woman in this representation:



But she didn't really suit his fancy. He wanted a different kind of challenge which was supposed to be off limits. He wanted a Vestal Virgin who could match his self proclaimed holiness. His preference was for Aquilia Severa:



That didn't go over so well with the general public, the senate, the military establishment, or the rest of the imperial house. They forced him to put her aside for a woman of social prominence and acceptability from a great family. He was called upon to marry Annia Faustina:


He did as he was told, but at the age of eighteen he was determined to have things the way HE wanted them, and no one was going to tell him otherwise. So he went back to the one woman HE had chosen, the erstwhile vestal virgin Aquilea Severa:



That of course proved that he was irrascible and unwilling to live by good Roman social standards. So at 18 the Roman guard dispensed with that member of the Severide line and brought up the man who would finish the line.

But you are asked to show us a coin of the wife of the one who STARTED the line, Septimius Severus. He married what's-her-name from the East.

 

Julia Domna, for some reason you have to click reply to see the image

NEXT: Caracalla
SO FAR
Theodosius I
Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus Pius
Gallienus
Severus Alexander
Diocletian
Hadrian
Lucius Verus
Claudius (not Gothicus)
Commodus
Philip I
Trajan Decius
Gordian III
Elagabalus
Septimus Severus

 

It wasn't stated, but may we assume that the coins we show are supposed to be in our collections?

 

@lrbguy

Double bonus points for the Annia Faustina

 

Generally, yes. Problem I discovered was I couldn't find my images and I am currently several hundred KM from my collection.

 

Plautilla, wife of Caracalla. Her portrait on obverse, the official wedding photo on reverse.

Next : Nero

 

Coins of the two wives of Nero are not easy to come by in silver. Provincial bronze is available, if you don't mind stepping outside Imperial coinage for the pics. Since no one else has picked up on this challenge in the last 24 hours, I will offer a couple of pics of coins I do not own but have watched, so that we do not stall out. I will even suggest a next person to approach, but if someone posts a relevant coin they own, their next preference should trump my suggestion.

Nero's first wife was Claudia Octavia:


Claudia Octavia (Augusta, 54-62). Lydia, Sardis. Æ (18mm, 4.70g, 12h). Struck under Nero, c. AD 60.
Draped bust r., wearing wreath of grain ears. R/ Demeter, holding torch in each hand, being drawn right by biga of serpents. RPC I 2999; GRPC 385. Rare, VF
(Available on Vcoins)

His second wife was Poppea Sabina:


Thrace. Perinthos. Poppaea AD 62-65. Struck under Nero 59-63 AD
Bronze Æ 25 mm, 8,15 g
ΠΟΠΠΑΙΑ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ, draped bust right, wearing stephane / Headdress of Isis; Π–E across field; all within laurel wreath. RPC 1756; Varbanov 27; Schönert 261.

Savoca sold that coin in April for a few hundred Euros, but some of her coins are cheap:


This Egyptian tet will hammer in a couple of weeks, starting at 10 euros.

Anyway, those are Neros wives. If this is an acceptable showing, the let us proceed to show something nice that honored the wife of Aurelian

 

Billon Coin (AE Antoninianus) minted at Antioch for SEVERINA, Wife of AURELIAN, in 274 A.D. Obv. SEVERINA.AVG.: Diad. & dr. bust r., resting on crescent. Rev. CONCORDIAE.MILITVM.: Concordia stg. l., holding two standards, in ex. XXI., in l. field S. RCS #3285. RICV #20. DVM #4.



next> Constantius I

 

Two wives. His first love, to whom he was married before his elevation in office worked like mad to help him achieve success. She was the mother of an illustrious son, the dear Helena:



But she did not have the social status that Maximian felt she should, and pressure was put on Constantius to replace her with someone more prominent. So it was that Constantius ended up with Maximian's step daughter, Theodora:



In the end it was left to Helena's son to honor these women on coinage.
Some say he was a real Con man, whose name escapes me, but I am sure you know his wife. Let's see one of her coins.

 

Constantine's wife?
I just have this poor specimen of Fausta.


Fausta, AE2-3, Rome?
Obv.: FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG, draped bust right
Rev.: SPES REI PVBLICAE, Fausta, veiled, draped, standing front, head left, holding two children in her arms, exergue [R wreath P ?]

Next : Augustus

 

That's the lady, and your coin shows her. But take a look at this example. There's something about it which is not quite right (although the coin is authentic in every respect.

Can you tell what is odd about this one?

 

I think it's because the guys in the Thessalonica mint made a mistake and minted some of the Helena coins with Fausta's portrait, and Fausta coins with Helena's portrait. They had one job... On your coin it's written FAVSTA but it's the portrait of Helena. I think this kind of confusion happened in Thessalonica only.

 

I see a couple possibilities, maybe... Possible spelling error (TAVSTA for FAVSTA)? Or (conceivably) that her bust appears to be cuirassed (i.e., you can see the armor on hear near shoulder)! There were a couple of other dies with that mistake. (E.g.)

Edit: Oh, now that it's been pointed out, I see! Very cool. (They both seem to come in a variety of hairstyles, don't they? But this portrait is clearly in the "Helena" style.)

 

LIVIA

"Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of emperor Augustus."​

I've been watching the TV show about her ("Domina") -- and Augustus, and Tiberius (under whom the coin below was struck), and Drusus (under whose name, as Caesar, it was struck). Can't say I like it as much as HBO's "Rome" ("THIRTEEN!!" "I'm Titus Pullo, right!"), but I do like a show that stokes my curiosities about ancient Roman intrigue.



The portrait on this Dupondius (struck c. 22 CE) is often described as "Livia as Pietas." I'm sure there are people who argue that it's NOT a "disguised portrait" of Livia, but I'll accept it at face value for now.

I've always wondered if the big scar across the obverse was meant as a deliberate defacement of Livia's portrait (as you see on emperors whose reputations fell on hard times, such as Nero)? There wasn't a damnatio and she wasn't particularly despised by the people, was she?



NEXT: Domitian (we haven't done them yet, have we?)

 

Very good, that is the usual reading of the situation, and I don't discount it. However....

The coin I showed is Thessalonica 161 in RIC VII for Fausta, and was minted from 326-328. It is one of two types for her, one with SALVS, and this one with SPES, from that mint, and it is more common by far than the issue with Salus.

The problem is, Fausta was executed at Constantine's order in 326 and a damnatio memoriae decree issued that same year. Hence to knowingly continue minting coins in her honor for two years would have been a contradiction of the Imperial order. Patrick Bruun (editor of RIC VII) disputes the interpretation of this coin given by Jules Maurice that it was a slip up. Bruun maintains that the figure is indeed Fausta but made up to appear as Helena. In that way sympathetic officials were able to honor the deceased, whom they apparently respected, without joining her.

Based on the relative rarities, it would seem they stopped minting the Salus type altogether and issued this alternative instead.

Thoughts?

 

Sorry. I didn't mean to kill the thread.