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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7531295, member: 75937"]I have never previously posted these coins here at CT although they not new acquisitions. Each has its faults. The artistry on the well-worn denarius is of, to put it bluntly, poor style. The middle bronze, while quite well preserved in terms of wear, does <i>not exactly</i> feature "5/5 surfaces." The sestertius can boast neither of complete legends nor high grade. The coins are not rare; Strack cites 524 examples of the denarius in the Reka Devnia hoard alone.</p><p><br /></p><p>But every coin is of interest, in this case because it sheds light on the uncertainty of the reverse figures on the great AETERNITAS issue of AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the empress' death and consecration.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300366[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman AR denarius, 3.22 g, 18.6 mm, 1 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 150 or later.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AETERNITAS, Female figure (Aeternitas? Juno?) veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 344; BMCRE 351; Cohen 26; Strack 448; RCV 4574; CRE 103.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1301130[/ATTACH] </p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.82 g, 31.3 mm, 11 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 150 or later.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Female figure (Aeternitas? Juno?) veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1102a; BMCRE 1480-81; Cohen 28; Strack 1263; RCV 4605.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300367[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Æ as or dupondius, 12.66 g, 25.5 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 150 or later.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Female figure (Aeternitas? Juno?) veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1155; BMCRE 1540-41; Cohen 29; Strack 1263; RCV 4636.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Thanks to the work of Martin Beckmann,[1] we can assign a probable date to the coin. The coin was likely part of the large issue bearing the reverse inscription AETERNITAS that commenced in AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Faustina's death and deification. Mattingly[2] rightfully clarifies that the coins of the large series of AETERNITAS reverse types issued for Faustina cannot be taken simply as the name of a goddess, Aeternitas. He explains:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>It is ... difficult to define the character of the figures associated with the legend. They may be regarded as varying representations of the spirit of Aeternitas with emblems borrowed from the goddesses and virtues who inhabit her sphere; or, as so many goddesses, Juno, Fortuna, and the rest; or as Diva Faustina, bearing the attributes of such goddesses in Eternity. The third probably comes nearest the the exact quality of Roman thought but, in the text, we have thought it best to define the types as far as possible by their attributes -- Juno by her sceptre and Fortuna by her rudder.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>This particular reverse type was issued multiple denominations: aureus, quinarius aureus, denarius, sestertius and middle bronze. It bears the inscription AETERNITAS and depicts a female figure in <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/matronly-garments-the-stola-and-palla.346585/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/matronly-garments-the-stola-and-palla.346585/">matronly attire</a>, standing left, raising her right hand and holding a more-or-less transverse scepter in her left. The identity of the figure is a matter of some debate. Strack identifies her as Aeternitas, Cohen as "Aeternitas (or Juno)," Mattingly (in RIC and BMC) as "Juno (?)," and Sear as Juno. However, as I have previously written, Aeternitas typically appears on Faustina's coins holding a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/aeternitas.330879/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/aeternitas.330879/">phoenix on globe</a> or, wearing a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-celestial-hemisphere-edition.371808/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-celestial-hemisphere-edition.371808/">billowing, star-spangled veil</a>, or <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-aeternitas-seated-on-the-celestial-sphere.377823/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-aeternitas-seated-on-the-celestial-sphere.377823/">seated upon the celestial sphere</a>. On this coin, she lacks these secondary attributes, giving more weight to the notion that the reverse figure is to be identified as Juno.</p><p><br /></p><p>Juno is, of course, the wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods. She has many guises, about which I have <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/juno-has-many-guises-lets-see-your-juno-coins.291828/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/juno-has-many-guises-lets-see-your-juno-coins.291828/">written previously</a>. She is fittingly depicted as a Roman matron, holding in her left hand a scepter (specifically, the <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Hasta%20Pura" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Hasta%20Pura" rel="nofollow"><i>hasta pura</i></a>), and in her right a patera. She is frequently accompanied by her sacred bird, the peacock, at her feet. But here, the reverse figure holds no patera, nor does a peacock accompany her. She holds only a scepter and has no secondary attribute to identify her as either Aeternitas or Juno. The figure could be either. In any event, the coin illustrates that the empress, deified ten years previously, lives in eternity.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Please post comments, your thoughts about the identity of the reverse figure, related coins, or anything you feel is relevant!</i></p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>Notes:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Beckmann, Martin. <i>Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.</i> American Numismatic Society, 2012.</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, p. lxii.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7531295, member: 75937"]I have never previously posted these coins here at CT although they not new acquisitions. Each has its faults. The artistry on the well-worn denarius is of, to put it bluntly, poor style. The middle bronze, while quite well preserved in terms of wear, does [I]not exactly[/I] feature "5/5 surfaces." The sestertius can boast neither of complete legends nor high grade. The coins are not rare; Strack cites 524 examples of the denarius in the Reka Devnia hoard alone. But every coin is of interest, in this case because it sheds light on the uncertainty of the reverse figures on the great AETERNITAS issue of AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the empress' death and consecration. [ATTACH=full]1300366[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman AR denarius, 3.22 g, 18.6 mm, 1 h. Rome, AD 150 or later. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS, Female figure (Aeternitas? Juno?) veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding scepter in left hand. Refs: RIC 344; BMCRE 351; Cohen 26; Strack 448; RCV 4574; CRE 103.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1301130[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.82 g, 31.3 mm, 11 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 1102a; BMCRE 1480-81; Cohen 28; Strack 1263; RCV 4605.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1300367[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]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.[/SIZE][/INDENT] Thanks to the work of Martin Beckmann,[1] we can assign a probable date to the coin. The coin was likely part of the large issue bearing the reverse inscription AETERNITAS that commenced in AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Faustina's death and deification. Mattingly[2] rightfully clarifies that the coins of the large series of AETERNITAS reverse types issued for Faustina cannot be taken simply as the name of a goddess, Aeternitas. He explains: [INDENT]It is ... difficult to define the character of the figures associated with the legend. They may be regarded as varying representations of the spirit of Aeternitas with emblems borrowed from the goddesses and virtues who inhabit her sphere; or, as so many goddesses, Juno, Fortuna, and the rest; or as Diva Faustina, bearing the attributes of such goddesses in Eternity. The third probably comes nearest the the exact quality of Roman thought but, in the text, we have thought it best to define the types as far as possible by their attributes -- Juno by her sceptre and Fortuna by her rudder.[/INDENT] This particular reverse type was issued multiple denominations: aureus, quinarius aureus, denarius, sestertius and middle bronze. It bears the inscription AETERNITAS and depicts a female figure in [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/matronly-garments-the-stola-and-palla.346585/']matronly attire[/URL], standing left, raising her right hand and holding a more-or-less transverse scepter in her left. The identity of the figure is a matter of some debate. Strack identifies her as Aeternitas, Cohen as "Aeternitas (or Juno)," Mattingly (in RIC and BMC) as "Juno (?)," and Sear as Juno. However, as I have previously written, Aeternitas typically appears on Faustina's coins holding a [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/aeternitas.330879/']phoenix on globe[/URL] or, wearing a [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-celestial-hemisphere-edition.371808/']billowing, star-spangled veil[/URL], or [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-%E2%80%93-aeternitas-seated-on-the-celestial-sphere.377823/']seated upon the celestial sphere[/URL]. On this coin, she lacks these secondary attributes, giving more weight to the notion that the reverse figure is to be identified as Juno. Juno is, of course, the wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods. She has many guises, about which I have [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/juno-has-many-guises-lets-see-your-juno-coins.291828/']written previously[/URL]. She is fittingly depicted as a Roman matron, holding in her left hand a scepter (specifically, the [URL='http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Hasta%20Pura'][I]hasta pura[/I][/URL]), and in her right a patera. She is frequently accompanied by her sacred bird, the peacock, at her feet. But here, the reverse figure holds no patera, nor does a peacock accompany her. She holds only a scepter and has no secondary attribute to identify her as either Aeternitas or Juno. The figure could be either. In any event, the coin illustrates that the empress, deified ten years previously, lives in eternity. [I]Please post comments, your thoughts about the identity of the reverse figure, related coins, or anything you feel is relevant![/I] ~~~ Notes: 1. Beckmann, Martin. [I]Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.[/I] American Numismatic Society, 2012. 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, p. lxii.[/QUOTE]
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