We are but a week away from Saturnalia and I want to wish you all a happy Faustina Friday! This week's installment concerns a common reverse type which was issued in all metals: VENVS featuring the goddess standing facing, head left, and holding an apple and rudder about which a dolphin is entwined. The type represents a second issue for the young empress, and it was massive and in continuous production for more than a year. Beckmann's seminal die-linkage study of the aurei of Faustina the Younger demonstrates it was introduced immediately following a brief issue[1] of three reverse types to commemorate the birth of Faustina's first child, Domitia Faustina in December, AD 147.[2] I have discussed these three reverse types previously. This VENVS issue thus began in early AD 148 and was in continuous production until coming to an end shortly after the birth of Lucilla in March, AD 149, when a new bust type was introduced. The VENVS type continues paired with four obverse dies featuring the empress's second bust type, which were also used to strike the IVNO and CONCORDIA reverse types commemorating the birth of Lucilla.[3] Thus, the issue can be firmly dated from early AD 148 to March or April AD 149. The coins bear Faustina's earliest obverse inscription, the dative case FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL. They were issued in the aureus, quinarius aureus, denarius, sesterius, dupondius and as denominations. The empress may be depicted bare-headed or wearing a strand of pearls or, extremely rarely, a stephane around her head. Apart from a rare denarius with a left-facing bust,[4] her bust faces right. Here are examples of gold coins in the British Museum and silver and bronze issues from my own collection that illustrate the reverse type. Aureus, draped bust, right, wearing strand of pearls. British Museum collection, BMCRE 1063. Quinarius aureus, draped bust, right, wearing double strand of pearls. British Museum collection, BMCRE 1066. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman AR denarius, 2.64 g, 17.4 mm, 7 h. Rome, early AD 148-March AD 149. Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust, right, with band of pearls round head. Rev: VENVS, Venus, standing left, holding apple and rudder, around which a dolphin is entwined. Refs: RIC 517c; BMCRE 1067-73; RSC 266a; Strack 495; RCV 4708; CRE 233. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.09 g, 29.4 mm, 12 h. Rome, early AD 148-March AD 149. Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust, right, with band of pearls round head. Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder, around which a dolphin is entwined. Refs: RIC 1388c; BMCRE 2148-50; Cohen 268 var.; Strack 1305; RCV 4720. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman orichalcum dupondius, 14.77 g, 26.5 mm, 12 h. Rome, early AD 148-March AD 149. Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder, around which a dolphin is entwined. Refs: RIC 1409b; BMCRE 2160; Cohen 269; RCV 4736. Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman Æ as, 13.84 g, 27.1 mm, 12 h. Rome, early AD 148-March AD 149. Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust, right, with band of pearls round head. Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder, around which a dolphin is entwined. Refs: RIC 1409b; BMCRE 2161-62; Cohen 269; RCV 4736. An important notion to be abandoned regarding the reverse design Cohen (nos. 260 and 261) incorrectly describes the aurei and denari in this series as sometimes depicting Venus "tenant une pomme et un gouvernail posé sur une colombe" (holding an apple and a rudder set on a dove).[5] Cohen's description was subsequently cited uncritically by Mattingly and Sydenham (RIC 515a-b and 517a-d) as "Venus standing l., holding apple and rudder set on dove."[6] Cohen (no. 266) only somewhat correctly describes a denarius as depicting Venus "tenant une pomme et un gouvernail posé sur un dauphin" (holding an apple and a rudder set on a dolphin). Mattingly and Sydenham, to their credit, do not cite this uncritically. Cohen (nos. 268 and 269), however, correctly describes the reverse on the bronze coinage, when he describes the goddess as "tenant une pomme et appuyée sur un gouvernail autour duquel est enroulé un dauphin" (holding an apple and leaning on a rudder around which a dolphin is entwined). Cohen was fully correct only in his description of the bronze coinage. Examples of this type show an extraordinary variety of execution in the details of the rudder and dolphin. As Paul Dinsdale notes: On the best dies the dolphin is clearly depicted with its head facing down and to the right and its tail coiling upwards to the left around the shaft of the rudder. On inferior dies the head of the dolphin is little more than a blob, and the tail is reduced to one or more coils around the shaft. On the worst examples, only a couple of marks across the shaft remain of the dolphin, but these can clearly be seen as one end of a continuum, and that the clear intention of the die-cutter was to indicate the presence of the dolphin. However, it is these poorer defined specimens that have been erroneously described as 'Venus standing l., holding apple and rudder set on dove' (RIC 515a-b plus variants). Virtually every specimen seen, where details can be determined, show some form of diagonal markings … and thus indicate the dolphin, as discussed; I have seen no specimen with a recognizable dove.[7] Cohen and RIC are incorrect: there is no dove upon which the rudder is set; the goddess holds a rudder about which a dolphin is entwined. This is well-illustrated on a denarius in the British Museum collection. This well-executed aureus die clearly depicts a dolphin entwined around Venus' rudder (BMCRE 1063). To his credit, writing later and without Edward Sydenham, Mattingly correctly describes the reverse on all denominations as "holding apple in r. hand and rudder set on dolphin which coils around it, in l."[8] As always, I encourage you to post comments, corrections, and photos of any coins in your collection you deem relevant! ~~~ Notes 1. The entire issue of the three reverse types used only four aureus obverse dies. See Beckmann, Martin, Faustina the Younger: Coinage, Portraits, and Public Image, A.N.S. Numismatic Studies 43, American Numismatic Society, New York, 2021, p. 31. 2. These three reverse types being: VENERI GENETRICI/Venus Genetrix standing left, holding apple and child in swaddling clothes, IVNONI LVCINAE/Juno standing left, holding patera and scepter, and LAETITIAE PVBLICAE/Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and vertical scepter. Beckmann, op. cit., p. 24. 3. Ibid., pp. 35-36. See die chain 2 in Faustina Friday, 3 September, 2021. 4. Strack 495, citing specimens in Berlin and Vienna. Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Stuttgart 1937. 5. Cohen, Henry. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome III: de Marc Aurèle à Albin (161 à 197 après J.-C.). Paris, 1883, p. 158. 6. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage. III, London, Spink, 1930, p. 95. 7. Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161: Antonine Coinage. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 342 n. 4. 8. Mattingly, Harold, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. London, BMP, 1968, pp. 161-62; 373-74; 375-76.
Oh my gosh is my coin going to be a let down after the beauties that you shared in your wonderful write up. I love anything Venus. So this was a VERY fun read. You, that's right, RC the man, the myth himself, helped me identify this coin! Faustina Junior Augusta 147-175 CE. Æ Sestertius (32,20mm, 20.68 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Antoninus Pius, circa AD 147-150. Draped bust right, band of pearls in hair / Venus standing left, holding apple and anchor around which a dolphin is coiled. RIC III 1388a (Pius); Banti 135. Ex: Ares
Probably the most subtle dolphin I've seen on any coinage. No wonder it was easily confused for something else.
Thanks for the very interesting write-up and coins. To be honest, if I didn't know, I would be unlikely ever to guess that that's supposed to be a dolphin, even on the well-preserved aurei.
Awesome Faustina Friday @Roman Collector The coins are beautiful. My first FF task was to go through my posts and check to see if my references to Faustina did not read Faustian which the autocorrect on my computer tries to change it to every time. I decided to create Faustina refrigerator magnets this week.
Another great Faustina Friday - great work, @Roman Collector I have two poor specimens of the Venus standing with apple and rudder, both sestertii (RIC 1388b I think - I need to update my attribution on these; I don't think there are any pearls). Though worn, I see dolphins, not smashed doves (squashed squabs?): Faustina II Æ Sestertius (145-161 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINAE AVG [PII A]VG FIL, draped bust right / [VENVS] S [C], Venus standing left holding an apple & rudder about which a dolphin is coiled. RIC 1388b. (19.51 grams / 31 x 28 mm) eBay July 2019 Faustina II Æ Sestertius (145-161 A.D.) Rome Mint [FAVSTINAE or A?] AVG PII[AVG FIL], draped bust right / [V]E[NVS] S C, Venus standing left holding an apple & rudder about which a dolphin is coiled. RIC 1388 a (A) or b (AE)? (22.64 grams / 29 x 26 mm) eBay July 2019 I have a dupondius too, again, needing an updated attribution...I notice the obverse legend breaks are considerably different than the one above which makes me doubt myself. My c. 2018 attributions are riddled with errors, I'm coming to find: Faustina II Æ Dupondius (148-152 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right / VENVS S-C, Venus standing left, holding apple and rudder around which a dolphin is coiled. RIC 1409; Cohen 269. (11.69 grams / 26 mm) eBay Apr. 2018
The dolphin's beak faces down and to the right. This was mistaken for a dove's tail feathers by Henry Cohen.
I see the dolphins head easily. It's the dove's head that I don't see when looking at it through that lense.
Thanks for another interesting Faustina Friday article, @Roman Collector Here are my two humble Faustina II denarius with similar reverse designs. The first one barely showing the dolphin, while the second one with no dolphin. I wonder if the dolphin is specific to certain S-shaped bangs hairstyle. Or the dolphin is a rare design version.
