Faustina Friday – AVGVSTA/Ceres with a Single Torch or Scepter

Because every Friday is Faustina Friday!

Martin Beckmann's Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces, has greatly clarified the dating and arrangement of the Diva Faustina coinage. Beckmann identified an almost complete sequence of die-linkages for the aurei, supported by additional shorter, but corroborative, die-linkages among the sestertii. In addition, he discovered several mules with reverse die-linkages to dated coins of Antoninus or Aurelius Caesar, which connected certain issues to other dated events. These studies enabled Beckman to produce a comprehensive and reliable sequence of relative dating.

Beckmann's die studies demonstrated that the obverse inscription on the coinage of Diva Faustina changed from DIVA AVG[VSTA] FAVSTINA to DIVA FAVSTINA immediately after the marriage of Faustina II to Marcus Aurelius in AD 145, moving Faustina I's title of AVGVSTA to the reverse of her coins.[1] The coinage of the period following the imperial wedding is dominated by the figure of Ceres holding a torch and scepter on the aurei and grain ears and torch or scepter on the silver and bronze coinage. I have previously written about some of these types and about this goddess.

There are a disproportionate number of coins depicting Ceres that were issued for Faustina and this is not coincidental. Andreas Alföldi argues that the connection between the empress and Ceres goes beyond mere concern over the grain supply or her devotion to the goddess.[2] It is more personal; Antoninus Pius was devoted to the sanctuary at Eleusis,[3] which had a temple where Faustina was worshiped as the new Demeter (Ceres) and had her own hierophant.[4]

This article does not go into depth about any one coin type; rather, it is intended to provide an overview of all types bearing the AVGVSTA reverse legend and depicting Ceres holding a single torch or scepter. Although all types are securely dated to AD 145-150,[5] it appears these coins were produced before the Ceres type with two torches was introduced in December AD 147 with the birth of Faustina the Younger's first child.[6] I therefore date them to AD 145-147, though I acknowledge that it is not possible to securely date the quinarius aureus, denarius and middle bronze denominations because they fall outside of the purview of Beckmann's die-linkage study of the aurei and sestertii of the empress.

Coins with this reverse legend and Ceres designs were issued in the aureus, quinarius aureus, denarius, sestertius, and middle-bronze denominations. Ceres, except for a middle bronze type where she is enthroned, is depicted standing left, right, or facing with head left. However, no single design was issued in all metals, and some were limited to a single denomination. There are nine such reverse designs and I arrange them by whether the goddess holds the torch or scepter in her right hand or left, and whether the torch is long or short. I show only one example of each design, whether or not it appears in more than one denomination. Moreover, on some issues, the bust may be right- or left-facing, and either veiled or bare-headed. I do not go into such details in this overview and the reader is directed to the standard references, such as RIC,[7] BMCRE,[8] Cohen,[9] and Strack[10] for more information. I limit my citations to RIC because this is the most widely-used reference and forms the basis for online sources such as Wildwinds and OCRE. All coins illustrated belong to my collection.

Let's see any Faustina coins you have depicting Ceres or anything you feel is relevant!

Torch or scepter in Ceres' right hand.

Ceres standing right, holding scepter and corn-ears (denarius only, RIC 358).

Denarius, RIC 358, 2.72 g, 18.8 mm, 6 h.​

Ceres standing left, holding long torch, and holding up hem of stola (denarius only, RIC 362).

Denarius, RIC 362, 3.17 g, 18.2 mm, 5 h.​

Ceres standing right, holding long torch and corn ears (quinarius aureus, RIC 359; middle bronze, RIC 1172).

As, RIC 1172, 10.73 g, 27.7 mm, 5 h.​

Ceres standing facing, head left, holding short torch and corn ears (sestertius, RIC 1118; middle bronze, RIC 1171).

Dupondius, RIC 1171, 12.08 g, 26.5 mm, 5 h.​

Ceres standing left, holding short torch and scepter (aureus, RIC 356; denarius RIC 356; middle bronze, RIC 1173).

Denarius, RIC 356, 3.40 g, 19.7 mm, 5 h.​

Torch in Ceres' left hand.

Ceres standing left, raising right hand, and holding long torch in left hand (aureus, RIC 361; denarius RIC 361).

Denarius, RIC 361a, 3.41 g, 17.4 mm, 5 h.​

Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch (denarius, RIC 360; sestertius, RIC 1116; middle bronze, RIC 1169).

Sestertius, RIC 1116a, 25.59 g, 32.6 mm, 6 h.​

Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and short torch (sestertius, RIC 1117; middle bronze, RIC –, BMCRE 1567).

As, RIC unlisted, BMCRE 1567, 7.67 g, 24.2 mm, 1 h.​

Ceres seated left, holding corn ears and long torch (middle bronze only, RIC 1170).

Middle bronze, RIC 1170, 8.15 g, 26.1 mm, 12 h.​

Statue of Ceres, Vatican Museum, Rome, Italy. Public domain.​

~~~

Notes:

1. Beckmann, Martin. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012, p. 55.

2. Alföldi, Andreas. "Redeunt Saturnia Regna. VII : Frugifer-Triptolemos Im Ptolemaïsch -Römischen Herrscherkult." Chiron , vol. 9, 1979, pp. 552–606, specifically pp. 586-589.

3. Eleusis, in the outskirts of Athens, of Eleusian mysteries fame. These mysteries involved elaborate rituals devoted to the worship of Demeter (Ceres).

4. Mylonas, George E. Eleusis and the Eleusian Mysteries. Princeton University Press, 1961, pp 155, 179.

5. Beckmann, op. cit., pp. 51 ff.

6. Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161; Second Revised Edition. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2021, p. 232. See also Beckmann, op. cit., p. 59.

7. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage. III, Spink, 1930.

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.

9. 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.

10. Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Stuttgart 1937.

 

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Great Faustina Friday post as always, RC. These always make me comb through my collection looking for examples. I had more than I thought I would:


Faustina I Denarius
3rd Phase, part 2: wedding of Faustina II to M. Aurelius
(c. 145-150 A.D.)
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled, standing left, holding torch & raising robe.
RIC 362; RSC 104; BMC 421.
(3.51 grams / 16 mm)
eBay Nov. 2013


Faustina I Denarius
3rd Phase, part 2: wedding of Faustina II to M. Aurelius
(c. 145-150 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AVGV-STA, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears & long torch.
RIC 360; RSC 78; BMC 408.
(3.11 grams / 17 mm)
eBay July 2019

Here is a dupondius RIC 1171, with a "British Association" note:


Faustina I Æ Dupondius
3rd Phase, part 2: wedding of Faustina II to M. Aurelius
(c. 154-155 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AVGVSTA S-C, Ceres standing left holding short torch in raised right hand and corn-ears in lowered left hand.
RIC III, 1171 type 1; Cohen 89.
(12.71 grams / 26 mm)
eBay Sep. 2020 (Estonia)
Note: "British Association" coins were
Roman as and dupondius issues from Hadrian to Antoninus Pius for Britain. This conclusion from D. R. Walker, Roman Coins from the Sacred Springs at Bath.
See CT Sep. 24, 2021, RC via Curtis Clay "The Supply of Bronze Coins to Britain..." for date, etc. Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 149 1989 p. 215

This is a weird one - it is on a large in diameter but very light, brassy flan. Dupondius flan struck with a sestertius die? Note the crack, possibly from striking on such a thin, wide flan:


Faustina I Æ Sestertius
(Struck on dupondius flan?)
3rd Phase, part 2: wedding of Faustina II to M. Aurelius
(c. 145-150 A.D.) Rome Mint
[DIVA] FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AVGV[ST]A S-C, Ceres standing left with short torch and corn ears.
RIC 1118; Cohen 88.
(13.70 grams / 32 mm)
eBay May 2018

Slightly off-topic, this one has Ceres with 2 torches. I attributed this as an as, but it is very yellow - perhaps a dupondius?

Faustina I Æ As
4th Phase: Birth of Annia Faustina to Faustina II and Marcus Aurelius
(c. 147 A.D.) Rome Mint
[DI]VA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AVGVSTA S C, Ceres standing left with short, flaming torches in both hands.
RIC 1174 (as).
(10.56 grams / 24 mm)
eBay June 2020

Another one, off-topic, this sestertius features one-torch Ceres, but with a different reverse legend:


Faustina I Æ Sestertius
5th Phase: Anniversary of Faustina’s Deification
(c. 150-160 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / AETE[RNIT]AS, S C, Ceres standing left holding torch and arranging draperies.
RIC 1100 [scarce].
(22.81 grams / 30 mm)
eBay Dec. 2018

 

Very nice Faustina collections Roman & Mike
some more:

 

Not an AVGVSTA reverse legend, but still a Diva Faustina I with a reverse showing Ceres with a single torch:

Diva Faustina I [Senior] (wife of Antoninus Pius), AR Denarius, prob. 150-160 AD [see Dinsdale, infra at p. 216 -- including this type among coins issued upon and after 10th anniversary of Faustina’s deification]. Obv: Draped bust right, DIVA FAVSTINA / Rev: Ceres, veiled, standing left, holding torch in left hand and holding right hand up in greeting, CONSECRATIO. RIC III 382b corr.*, RSC II 165a, Sear RCV II 4593, Dinsdale 020610 [Dinsdale, Paul H, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161: Antonine Coinage (2018) at p. 249; photo at p. 254]. 17 mm., 3.3 g.



* RIC III 382b erroneously describes Faustina’s bust on obverse as veiled. (RIC III 382a has different obverse legend [DIVA AVG FAVSTINA]).

Is it possible that Ceres is holding something in her right hand? Because otherwise, that's a rather large mitt.

Also, is Beckmann's date for this issue the same as Dinsdale's?

 

Thanks for the write-up, @Roman Collector ! I happen to have this denarius in my collection but didn't know about the backround you provided:


Faustina I “the Elder” (postumous), Roman Empire, denarius, 145–150 AD, Rome mint. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA; draped bust of Faustina I r. Rev: AVGVSTA; Ceres standing r., holding sceptre in r. hand and grain ears in l. 18mm, 2.99g. Ref: RIC III Antoninus Pius 358.

 

Very interesting coins, @Marsyas Mike, as always. You have a knack for tracking down unappreciated rarities and oddities. You have several I do not have in my own collection.

The first one lacking in my numophylacium Faustinae is the very lightweight sestertius, RIC 1118. I only have the dupondius and, at 12.08 g, it weighs nearly as much as your sestertius. But sestertius it must be at 32 mm diameter without "boardwalk" margins. So, I think your struck on a dupondius flan theory is the only one that makes sense. Interesting, indeed.

I only have the Ceres (though Beckmann argues -- convincingly, too, I think -- that it's Proserpina; see here) with two torches bronze in the sestertius denomination. It's not often encountered in the middle bronze denomination, such as you have. Yours looks like a dupondius to me, by the color of the photo.

I do not have the AETERNITAS/Ceres standing left, with right hand arranging drapery on shoulder and holding lighted torch in left hand sestertius. It's quite scarce indeed.

 

Very nice, @Andres2! As I noted to @Marsyas Mike, above, the one where the reverse deity holds a torch in each hand might not depict Ceres Taedifera, but Proserpina. Thanks for reading, for your kind words, and for sharing photos of your own collection! I can't get enough of 'em!

 

Thanks for your contribution to my post, @DonnaML!

Your coin is an example of a very interesting issue. It comes in two different obverse legends, the expected DIVA FAVSTINA inscription, but also with an anachronistic use of the DIVA AVG FAVSTINA inscription. Here are the examples of each from my own collction.


Faustina Senior, AD 138-140.
Roman AR denarius, 3.07 g, 18.6 mm, 5h.
Rome, c. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: CONSECRATIO, Ceres (?) standing left, raising right hand and holding short torch in left.
Refs: RIC 382b; BMCRE 467-69; Cohen 165; Strack 452; RCV 4593; CRE 86.
Notes: Cohen erroneously describes the specimen in the BnF as having a veiled bust, though Strack describes the same specimen correctly. RIC cites Cohen’s description of the bust type uncritically, which is corrected in BMCRE.


Faustina Senior, AD 138-140.
Roman AR denarius, 3.06 g, 17.5 mm, 5h.
Rome, c. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: CONSECRATIO, Ceres (?) standing left, raising right hand and holding short torch in left.
Refs: RIC 382a; BMCRE 301; Cohen 166; Strack 424; RCV –; CRE 87.
Notes: The earlier DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend of AD 140-145 was reintroduced on a few issues of the late 150s.

I have written about the anachronistic use of the DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend here. The coins are dated to the "late 150s" by Beckmann (p. 71), so a bit more specific than Dinsdale (after 150).

And yep, that's supposed to be Ceres' empty and open right hand.

 

Thanks for your kind words and for sharing a photo of your coin. You might be interested in this post from three years ago, which discusses how an example of your denarius may have had its corn ears removed by tooling to make the "Juno standing right, holding scepter and lowering left hand" variety (RIC 364). I'm not convinced that RIC 364 even exists.

I think, for example, I see traces of corn ears on this one that indicate they were removed by tooling.

 

Thanks for the kind words about my collection, RC.

I am pretty sure the "sestertius struck on dupondius flan" theory is yours! When I posted it a few years ago, I am pretty sure you were the one who suggested this, and I ran with it. So thank you!

 

Well, I narrowly missed Faustina Friday it seems, but it might still be an appropriate place to share this one. It is, however, a "Junior" -- and Helios has the torch at his feet, not in hand.

Recent purchase from CNG (their description and photo below), who correctly noted it was ex von Aulock (SNG von Aulock 5572 and also RPC IV.3 Online 4976 example 6). But, as it turns out, both CNG and RPC failed to notice this coin was also ex-Levante (SNG Levante 1596, formerly also RPC's example 9, now combined w/ 6).

It was also illustrated in Robert (1964) La Déesse de Hiérapolis Castabala (Cilicie) (pl. XXVI.77) and a Turkish dissertation by Emre Erten (Page 98, Res. 107), and cited in Howgego for the countermark (GIC 686, citing Robert 77), Berrens & Geske (2004), and at least three more Turkish dissertations! (Sadly, I'm nowhere near reading Turkish.)

SNG Levante:
SNG vA:

Roman Provincial
CILICIA, Hierapolis-Castabala. Faustina Junior. Augusta, AD 147-175. Æ (29mm, 10.11 g, 6h). Draped bust right, wearing crescent / Radiate Helios standing left, raising hand and cradling scepter; lighted torch to left; c/m: T in incuse.​