TGIFF!! I have never previously posted this coin here at CT although it is not a new acquisition. The coin is a middle bronze, likely an as based upon its weight and thin, ragged flan. Moreover, though it doesn’t photograph well, there are coppery highlights visible through the patina, particularly on the reverse figure. Both asses and dupondii are known among the various museum specimens. Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman Æ as, 8.23 g, 26.4 mm, 4 h. Rome, AD 150 or later. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Female figure (Aeternitas? Providentia?) standing facing, head left, raising right hand and holding globe in left hand. Refs: RIC 1164; BMCRE 1559-60; Cohen 42; Strack 1264; RCV 4642. 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: 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. This particular reverse type was issued only in the middle bronze denomination. It bears the inscription AETERNITAS and depicts a female figure in matronly attire, standing left, raising her right hand and holding a globe in her left. The identity of the figure is a matter of some debate. The early continental authorities, Cohen and Strack, each identify her as Aeternitas. However, as I have previously written, Aeternitas 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 these secondary attributes. I suspect that this is why Mattingly (RIC3 and BMCRE4) identifies her as Providentia, as does Sear, as well as the current curator of the British Museum’s website. Providentia is the personification of foresight and is most often depicted under the form of a female, clothed as a Roman matron, holding in her left hand a cornucopiae or the hasta pura, and in her right a short wand, with which she either touches or points to a globe. Sometimes she holds this globe in her right hand; at other times it lies at her feet. Occasionally, this globe bears an equinoctial cross, identifying it as the celestial globe, but more typically, it appears as a simple round ball. For illustrations of these various depictions of Providentia, I refer you to an article I have previously written. But on this middle bronze of Faustina, the reverse figure holds only a globe, without any other attribute of Providentia, such as the hasta pura, a wand, or cornucopiae, unlike earlier issues of Diva Faustina depicting Providentia, such as this as issued in AD 140, shortly after the empress’ death and deification.[3] Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman Æ as, 12.87 g, 26.4 mm, 6 h. Rome, AD 140-141. Obv: DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, bust of Faustina I, draped and veiled, right. Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Providentia, draped, standing left, holding globe on extended right hand and vertical scepter in left hand. Refs: RIC 1163ab; BMCRE 1459; RCV 4635; Cohen --; Strack 1230. So, the reverse figure who holds only a globe has no secondary attribute to identify her as either Aeternitas or Providentia. The figure could be either. In any event, the coin illustrates that the empress, deified ten years previously, lives in eternity. And we do still talk of her, more than 1860 years after her death. Eternal, indeed. Please post comments, your thoughts about the identity of the reverse figure, related coins, or anything you feel is relevant! ~~~ Notes: 1. Beckmann, Martin. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012. 2. Mattingly, Harold, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. London, BMP, 1968, p. lxii. 3. There were only two AETERNITAS reverse types issued in AD 140. They bear the obverse inscription DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA or DIVA AVG FAVSTINA and depict the deceased empress wearing a veil, emphasizing her deified status. See here. Do not confuse these AETERNITAS types 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.
I never noticed the resemblance between the two types before, but the iconography is quite similar. I can see why my coin reminded you of yours! Nice examples of each! Much easier to attribute these reverse figures -- Juno has her scepter and Aeternitas has her phoenix on globe!
