Faustina Friday – A Tricky Lookalike!

You know what that means! It's not just Friday; it's Faustina Friday!

And -- HOLY SMOKE! -- this is the 52nd weekly installment of Faustina Friday!! A WHOLE YEAR'S WORTH!



This middle bronze of Faustina I may look familiar to you, but chances are you are thinking of a different issue with a similar reverse type because this one is quite scarce in the numismatic trade.[1]

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 12.10 g, 26.4 mm, 11 h.
Rome, AD 145.
Obv: DIVA FAV-STINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Female figure (Juno?) standing left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand.
Refs: RIC 1177; BMCRE 1579; Cohen –; Strack 1281; RCV –.​

This reverse type was also issued in gold, such as this example from the British Museum.

Aureus of Faustina I, RIC 364a (erroneously stating the goddess is standing right); BMCRE 431.​

Dating and Iconography

That this type occurs on the aureus allows us to date the coin with certainty to AD 145, because Martin Beckmann's die-linkage study identifies this reverse type as one of two which come into use immediately after the temple reverse type issued to commemorate the wedding of Faustina II and Marcus Aurelius in that year. It is part of a massive series of coins bearing the obverse inscription DIVA FAVSTINA and the reverse inscription AVGVSTA issued in honor of the imperial wedding.[2]

The identity of the figure on the reverse is a matter of some debate. Strack identifies her as Aeternitas.[3] Cohen, describing the corresponding aureus, uses the non-committal "femme" (woman).[4] Mattingly, writing with Sydenham in RIC, describes her tentatively as "Juno (?)."[5] Mattingly, writing by himself in BMCRE4, unambiguously identifies her as Juno,[6] as does David Sear when describing the corresponding aureus.[7]

Juno is to be identified by her scepter.[8] Aeternitas, as I have previously written, typically appears on Faustina's coins holding a phoenix on globe or, wearing a billowing, star-spangled veil, or seated upon the celestial sphere. On this coin, she lacks the secondary attributes of Aeternitas, giving more weight to the notion that the reverse figure is to be identified as Juno.

Some Lookalikes and Pitfalls

The coin is easily mistaken for one issued as part of the large AETERNITAS issue of AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the empress' death. These coins are plentiful, and I have previously discussed them. They bear the image of a female figure, veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand. The goddess, variously identified as Aeternitas or Juno, appears on this coin with her body facing the viewer and holding the scepter further away from her body than on the AVGVSTVS type of AD 145 illustrated above.

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 12.66 g, 25.5 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 150 or later.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Female figure (Aeternitas? Juno?) veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand.
Refs: RIC 1155; BMCRE 1540-41; Cohen 29; Strack 1263; RCV 4636.​

In addition, poorly preserved examples of two other types may be misidentified as RIC 1177. On each, the reverse bears the inscription AVGVSTA and a female deity standing left, holding an object in the right hand and a scepter in the left. These are RIC 1173, where Ceres holds a short torch, and RIC 1179, where Vesta holds the Palladium (discussed previously in this thread). They are illustrated below.

As or dupondius of Faustina I, Ceres standing l., holding short torch and scepter, RIC 1173, BMCRE 1572-1573. British Museum collection.​

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 10.37 g, 25.4 mm, 5 h.
Rome, AD 145.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Vesta veiled, standing left, holding palladium and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1179; BMCRE 1582; Cohen 111; Strack 1294; RCV --.​

Let's see your coins that may be confused with similar issues. Of course, comments and questions are welcome. Post anything you feel is relevant!

~~~

Notes

1. There appear to be as few as ten known examples. I have catalogued the following: Strack cites specimens in Vienna, Munich, Rome, and the Vatican. The British Museum has two specimens. OCRE cites one specimen in Freiburg. RIC cites A.S.F.N. 1885, p. 206. An acsearchinfo search yields only Pegasi Buy or Bid Sale 154, lot 373, 21 August 2018 (bust has been tooled). The Wildwinds specimen of "RIC 1177" as well as the specimen owned by @Andres2 here at CT are examples of RIC 1173; see CNG E-Auction 123, 28 Sept. 2005, lot 246 for a well-preserved specimen.

2. Beckmann, Martin. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012, pp. 55 ff, especially pp. 55-56.

3. As noted in Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161: Antonine Coinage. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, n. 12, p. 258.

4. Henry Cohen, Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome II, Paris, 1882, no. 129, pp. 422-23.

5. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage. III, Spink, 1930, p. 167.

6. Mattingly, Harold. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Vol. 4, British Museum, 1940, p. 252.

7. Sear, David R. Roman Coins and Their Values. II, Spink, 2002, p. 266.

8. Mattingly (BMCRE), p. lxii.

 

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Happy Faustina Friday, @Roman Collector. Thanks for another educational episode in the "Coins of Faustina" series. Here is a coin that I hope you find appropriate to your theme: "coins that may be confused with similar issues". I liked the portrait. I think the die engraver may have forgotten which Faustina he was engraving and compared to other coins of this type: he left out part of the veil.

Faustina II, Augusta AD 147-175, AR denarius, Rome
Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, Bust of Faustina the Younger, bare-headed, with hair waived and coiled on back of head, draped, right
Rev: PVDICITIA, Pudicitia, veiled, draped, standing left, with right hand drawing out fold of robe in front of face and with left gathering up fold of skirt
Ref: RIC Antoninus Pius 507a

 

That's a very well rendered Pudicitia on the reverse, despite missing part of her palla.

Here's my specimen of that coin. I don't know what Pudicitia is doing on its reverse -- it looks like she has a sock puppet!

 

lookalike:



same as the OP

 

..always looking 4ward to Faustina Friday RC! ...i have the Vesta holding the palladium middle bronze(AeAs/dupondius) model...and happy Friday all!

 

Thanks for another nice writeup, @Roman Collector.

Here is my Faustina I Sestertius look-alike. Similar left-facing pose, but without scepter I think. Coin surface too rough to tell...

 

I think that's a lookalike, too. It is Ceres standing l., holding short torch and scepter, RIC 1173, not 1177.

Compare this specimen to yours, CNG E-Auction 123, 28 Sept. 2005, lot 246.

 

That appears to be RIC 1127; BMCRE 1525, Pietas standing left with altar at her feet.

 

DIVA FAUSTINA Sr. Died 141 AD. As (25mm; 10.14 gm; 11h). Rome. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, Draped bust right. Rev: AVGVSTA / S - C., Vesta standing left, holding palladium and scepter. RIC 1178

 

Thanks for your additional info, RC.