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Faustina Friday – AETERNITAS and Star Edition
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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 8340087, member: 75937"]Friday felicitations, fellow Faustina Fanatics!</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/GfcnqZx2unIEmPojR9/giphy.gif?cid=790b7611b6fa88658c71159adb9f4cbd6d380debc7a79f8e&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Today we're taking a break from the coins of Faustina the Younger and we're going to explore this early posthumous issue of Faustina the Elder, which is a new acquisition to my <i>numophylacium</i>. It's a type I've sought for quite a while but always would get outbid when an example came up at auction. This time, I got lucky.</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]ThHz9wlBeLU[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1481575[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Roman AR denarius, 3.47 g, 18.2 mm, 1 h.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rome, AD 140-141.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Obv: DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rev: AETERNITAS around eight-pointed star; dot below.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Refs: RIC 355(b); BMCRE 293-295; Cohen 63; Strack 421; RCV 4580; CRE 124.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Notes: Double die match to <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-13129" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-13129" rel="nofollow">BMCRE 294</a>.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>The Fasti Ostienses for A.D. 140 records:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>On October 23(?) Faustina Augusta died and on the same day was named diva by the Senate and a senatorial decree was made awarding her a state funeral. Games and circus-races were offered. [Some unknown number of days before] November 13 Faustina’s state funeral was celebrated, gold and silver statues were set up(?), and a senatorial decree.[1]</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Soon after, Antoninus Pius began issuing coinage in her honor, a practice he continued until the end of his reign. This coin was among the first. It bears the veil worn by the deceased empress, emphasizing her deified status. The AETERNITAS inscription ("eternity") and the star on the reverse represents the deified empress's "soul in the heavenly sphere."[2] Do not confuse the AETERNITAS types discussed here with the vast issue of AD 150 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the empress's death and consecration. These later types bear the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription.[3]</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin was issued only in the denarius denomination and therefore falls outside the purview of Beckmann's die-linkage studies of the aurei and sestertii of Diva Faustina I. Nonetheless, Beckmann assigns this coin to the earliest issues for the deified empress:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>The <i>denarii</i>, as explained in Chapter 1, are impossible to arrange by die study. But some progress can be made by observing characteristics common with the earliest <i>aurei</i> and <i>sestertii</i>. So to this earliest coinage of Diva Faustina can be added the <i>denarius</i> types showing a star with the legend AETERNITAS (a parallel to the standing figure/AETERNITAS on the gold and bronze) and the type with an eagle and the legend CONSECRATIO (paralleling the eagle and Faustina/CONSECRATIO issues of the bronze).[4]</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>The standing figure to which Beckmann refers holds a globe and scepter and is typically identified as <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-providentia-edition.366187/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-providentia-edition.366187/">Providentia</a>.[5] Beckmann's die-linkage study of the aurei of Diva Faustina identifies the type as among the very first issued after her death,[6] making a date of AD 140-141 almost certain. The stylistic parallels in the busts between the AETERNITAS/star type and the AETERNITAS/standing figure type are striking. Note the small size of the portrait relative to the flan, the ornaments sewn into the empress's hair in front of her chignon, and the tiny amount of drapery portrayed, without even the shoulders making an appearance on the portrait.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1478828[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius, 3.26 g, 17.7 mm, 1 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 140-141.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AETERNITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe and scepter.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 350a(b); BMCRE 291; RSC 34a; Strack 417; RCV –; CRE 120.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1478829[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.91 g, 32.3 mm, 7 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 140-141.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA •, veiled and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Providentia standing front, head left, holding globe and scepter.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1108b; BMCRE 1421; Cohen --; Strack 1230; RCV --.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>In this interesting video, Janet Stephens, an expert in ancient hairdressing techniques, shows you how Faustina's signature hairstyle was done and how these ornaments were added.</p><p><br /></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]1Ev5QIYOJyQ[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Do you have coins with stars as a major design element? Let's see them! Feel free to post comments, questions, or anything you feel is relevant!</i></p><p><br /></p><p><b>~~~</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Notes</b></p><p><br /></p><p>1. <i>Fasti Ostienses</i> (tablet O, lines 11-15), quoted and transl. by Martin Beckmann. The texts are damaged and both dating formulas are corrupted; therefore, the precise days cannot be recovered. See Beckmann, Martin. <i>Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.</i> American Numismatic Society, 2012, p.22.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Mattingly, Harold, <i>Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. </i>London, BMP, 1968, pp. lx-lxi.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Unfortunately, and confusingly, some of these later types (from the late 150s) anachronistically bear the earlier DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend. They are easily identified, however, by portrait style and the fact that coins of the same reverse types were issued in parallel with the expected late DIVA FAVSTINA legend. I have previously discussed these <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-late-denarius-types-with-early-obverse-legends.387138/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-late-denarius-types-with-early-obverse-legends.387138/">late denarius types with early obverse legends</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Beckmann, Martin. <i>Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.</i> American Numismatic Society, 2012, p. 21.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. So BMCRE, RIC, and CRE. On the other hand, Cohen identifies the figure as "Aeternitas or Providentia," whereas Strack and David Sear each identify the figure as Aeternitas. See: Mattingly, <i>op. cit</i>.; Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham (RIC). <i>The Roman Imperial Coinage</i>. III, Spink, 1930; Temeryazev, S. A., and T. P. Makarenko (CRE). <i>The Coinage of Roman Empresses.</i> San Bernardino, CreateSpace, 2017; Cohen, Henry. <i>Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome II: de Nerva à Antonin (96 à 161 après J.-C.).</i> Paris, 1882; Strack, Paul L., <i>Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius</i>. Stuttgart 1937; Sear, David R., <i>Roman Coins and their Values, vol. 2, The Accession of Nerva to the Overthrow of the Severan Dynasty, A.D. 96 -A.D. 235</i>. London, 2002</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Beckmann, <i>op. cit</i>., Die Chart 1.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 8340087, member: 75937"]Friday felicitations, fellow Faustina Fanatics! [IMG]https://media3.giphy.com/media/GfcnqZx2unIEmPojR9/giphy.gif?cid=790b7611b6fa88658c71159adb9f4cbd6d380debc7a79f8e&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g[/IMG] Today we're taking a break from the coins of Faustina the Younger and we're going to explore this early posthumous issue of Faustina the Elder, which is a new acquisition to my [I]numophylacium[/I]. It's a type I've sought for quite a while but always would get outbid when an example came up at auction. This time, I got lucky. [MEDIA=youtube]ThHz9wlBeLU[/MEDIA] [ATTACH=full]1481575[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman AR denarius, 3.47 g, 18.2 mm, 1 h. Rome, AD 140-141. Obv: DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS around eight-pointed star; dot below. Refs: RIC 355(b); BMCRE 293-295; Cohen 63; Strack 421; RCV 4580; CRE 124. Notes: Double die match to [URL='https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-13129']BMCRE 294[/URL].[/SIZE][/INDENT] The Fasti Ostienses for A.D. 140 records: [INDENT]On October 23(?) Faustina Augusta died and on the same day was named diva by the Senate and a senatorial decree was made awarding her a state funeral. Games and circus-races were offered. [Some unknown number of days before] November 13 Faustina’s state funeral was celebrated, gold and silver statues were set up(?), and a senatorial decree.[1][/INDENT] Soon after, Antoninus Pius began issuing coinage in her honor, a practice he continued until the end of his reign. This coin was among the first. It bears the veil worn by the deceased empress, emphasizing her deified status. The AETERNITAS inscription ("eternity") and the star on the reverse represents the deified empress's "soul in the heavenly sphere."[2] Do not confuse the AETERNITAS types discussed here with the vast issue of AD 150 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the empress's death and consecration. These later types bear the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription.[3] This coin was issued only in the denarius denomination and therefore falls outside the purview of Beckmann's die-linkage studies of the aurei and sestertii of Diva Faustina I. Nonetheless, Beckmann assigns this coin to the earliest issues for the deified empress: [INDENT]The [I]denarii[/I], as explained in Chapter 1, are impossible to arrange by die study. But some progress can be made by observing characteristics common with the earliest [I]aurei[/I] and [I]sestertii[/I]. So to this earliest coinage of Diva Faustina can be added the [I]denarius[/I] types showing a star with the legend AETERNITAS (a parallel to the standing figure/AETERNITAS on the gold and bronze) and the type with an eagle and the legend CONSECRATIO (paralleling the eagle and Faustina/CONSECRATIO issues of the bronze).[4][/INDENT] The standing figure to which Beckmann refers holds a globe and scepter and is typically identified as [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-providentia-edition.366187/']Providentia[/URL].[5] Beckmann's die-linkage study of the aurei of Diva Faustina identifies the type as among the very first issued after her death,[6] making a date of AD 140-141 almost certain. The stylistic parallels in the busts between the AETERNITAS/star type and the AETERNITAS/standing figure type are striking. Note the small size of the portrait relative to the flan, the ornaments sewn into the empress's hair in front of her chignon, and the tiny amount of drapery portrayed, without even the shoulders making an appearance on the portrait. [ATTACH=full]1478828[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman AR denarius, 3.26 g, 17.7 mm, 1 h. Rome, AD 140-141. Obv: DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe and scepter. Refs: RIC 350a(b); BMCRE 291; RSC 34a; Strack 417; RCV –; CRE 120.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1478829[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.91 g, 32.3 mm, 7 h. Rome, AD 140-141. Obv: DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA •, veiled and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Providentia standing front, head left, holding globe and scepter. Refs: RIC 1108b; BMCRE 1421; Cohen --; Strack 1230; RCV --.[/SIZE][/INDENT] In this interesting video, Janet Stephens, an expert in ancient hairdressing techniques, shows you how Faustina's signature hairstyle was done and how these ornaments were added. [MEDIA=youtube]1Ev5QIYOJyQ[/MEDIA] [I]Do you have coins with stars as a major design element? Let's see them! Feel free to post comments, questions, or anything you feel is relevant![/I] [B]~~~ Notes[/B] 1. [I]Fasti Ostienses[/I] (tablet O, lines 11-15), quoted and transl. by Martin Beckmann. The texts are damaged and both dating formulas are corrupted; therefore, the precise days cannot be recovered. See Beckmann, Martin. [I]Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.[/I] American Numismatic Society, 2012, p.22. 2. Mattingly, Harold, [I]Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. [/I]London, BMP, 1968, pp. lx-lxi. 3. Unfortunately, and confusingly, some of these later types (from the late 150s) anachronistically bear the earlier DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend. They are easily identified, however, by portrait style and the fact that coins of the same reverse types were issued in parallel with the expected late DIVA FAVSTINA legend. I have previously discussed these [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-late-denarius-types-with-early-obverse-legends.387138/']late denarius types with early obverse legends[/URL]. 4. Beckmann, Martin. [I]Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.[/I] American Numismatic Society, 2012, p. 21. 5. So BMCRE, RIC, and CRE. On the other hand, Cohen identifies the figure as "Aeternitas or Providentia," whereas Strack and David Sear each identify the figure as Aeternitas. See: Mattingly, [I]op. cit[/I].; Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham (RIC). [I]The Roman Imperial Coinage[/I]. III, Spink, 1930; Temeryazev, S. A., and T. P. Makarenko (CRE). [I]The Coinage of Roman Empresses.[/I] San Bernardino, CreateSpace, 2017; Cohen, Henry. [I]Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome II: de Nerva à Antonin (96 à 161 après J.-C.).[/I] Paris, 1882; Strack, Paul L., [I]Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius[/I]. Stuttgart 1937; Sear, David R., [I]Roman Coins and their Values, vol. 2, The Accession of Nerva to the Overthrow of the Severan Dynasty, A.D. 96 -A.D. 235[/I]. London, 2002 6. Beckmann, [I]op. cit[/I]., Die Chart 1.[/QUOTE]
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