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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 7566614, member: 75937&quot;]And then there&#039;s THIS interesting coin (BMC Pius 680), dated to Marcus&#039; third tribunicia potestas, AD 148-149. It depicts Concordia with two female children who are old enough to stand, one older than the other. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1304814[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>What are we to make of this? The date is certain. At the time it was minted, Marcus and Faustina had two children (Pace Birley, who proposes twin boys in AD 149; Ameling has convincingly refuted this hypothesis, IMO), Domitia Faustina, born 30 November, AD 147, and Lucilla, born 7 March, c. 148 (a few scholars believe 149 or 150; I don&#039;t).</p><p><br /></p><p>There are two possibilities:</p><p><br /></p><ol> <li>The coin is meant to symbolize the harmony of the growing imperial family and depicts Domitia Faustina (left) and Lucilla (right). This would account for the imagery of two girls, one older than the other, on the reverse. Against this notion, however, is that Lucilla would have been an infant and the girls on the coin appear to be older. However, depicting even young children as able to stand might be artistic convention; moreover, Lucilla may have been about one year of age at the time the coin was minted.<br /> <br /> </li> <li>The coin does not depict any actual people, but is a representation of the idea of concordia in general. Perhaps it&#039;s an allegory for some sort of treaty between two territories or cities within the empire, each represented by a female figure on the reverse. Against this notion, however, is the lack of historical evidence of such an agreement or event that took place in AD 148 or 149. However, the historical record of the Antonine period is admittedly incomplete and limited. </li> </ol><p><br /></p><p>Of these, I favor the former, simply because it&#039;s the scenario that best fits the historical situation as we know it. Any thoughts?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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