Faustina Friday – The Aeternitas Holding Phoenix Issues of Faustina the Elder

Not just Friday! It's Faustina Friday! TGIFF, y'all!!

Thanks to the work of Martin Beckmann,[1] we have been able to arrange the undated coinage of Faustina I in chronological order and, in many cases, assign a rough date of issue. Beckmann accomplished this by constructing a nearly complete sequence of die-linkages for the aurei, supported by additional shorter, but corroborative, die-linkages amongst the aurei and the sestertii. Moreover, by studying hybrids of dated coins of Antoninus Pius or Aurelius Caesar which bear Faustina's reverse types, and by studying the connections of issues to other dated events, he has been able to assign actual – not just relative – dates to certain issues.

Faustina's posthumous coinage is divided into five main phases commencing with the deification and funeral of Faustina. The issue I discuss today belongs to the fifth and final of these, which commenced in AD 150 for the tenth anniversary of Faustina's death and deification but continued for some years afterward. These coins all bear the late obverse inscription DIVA FAVSTINA, which may appear as DIVA-FAVSTINA or DIVA FAV-STINA.

Among these issues were a large series of coins in all metals bearing the reverse inscription AETERNITAS. Mattingly[2] rightfully explains, however, 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, because the various figures have the accoutrements associated with several different goddesses and personifications. 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.​

The reverse figure on the coins we shall discuss today is unambiguously to be identified as Aeternitas, the personification of eternity itself.[3] That is because she holds a phoenix, a symbol of cyclical time, since the phoenix was reborn in flames every 500 years.[4] The phoenix is one of four attributes that are unequivocally associated with Aeternitas on Antonine coinage: the Phoenix, the large circular hoop of the Zodiac, the large starry globe on which the figure is seated, and the starry veil billowing around head of the figure.[5]

There are two issues depicting Aeternitas holding a phoenix: one depicting Aeternitas standing left, holding a phoenix in her right hand and raising the hem of her stola with her left, and one depicting her seated left, holding a phoenix on globe in her right hand and a scepter in her left. The Aeternitas standing reverse type was used for the denarius, sestertius, and middle bronze denominations; the Aeternitas seated type only appears on the bronze denominations. The two types seem to have been issued more or less simultaneously in the late 150s,[6] shortly after the appearance of the issue featuring Aeternitas standing front, head left, holding globe, and with left hand holding starry veil which billows around her head.[7]

The deified empress is depicted only with a right-facing bust and with the obverse inscription DIVA FAVSTINA. She may be depicted either bare-headed (most common and in all denominations) or with a veiled bust (rare and in the bronze denominations only). Here are representative examples from my own collection.

Let's see your coins depicting Aeternitas, phoenices, or anything else you feel is relevant!

Aeternitas Standing

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman AR denarius, 3.33 g, 17.8 mm, 5 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas, draped, standing left, holding phoenix on extended right hand and raising fold of skirt with left hand.
Refs: RIC 347; BMCRE 354-57; Cohen 11; Strack 446; RCV 4576; CRE 70.
Notes: The phoenix is often depicted nimbate and occasionally standing on a globe.​

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 22.40 g, 32.6 mm, 4 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Aeternitas standing facing, head left, holding phoenix (nimbate right) on globe in right hand and with left hand drawing out fold of skirt.
Refs: RIC 1105a; BMCRE 1490, 1493; Cohen 12; RCV 4607.​

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 13.81 g, 27.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Aeternitas standing facing, head left, holding phoenix (nimbate right) on globe in right hand and with left hand drawing out fold of skirt.
Refs: RIC 1157; BMCRE 1544-47; Cohen 13; Strack 1261; RCV 4638.​

Aeternitas Seated

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.57 gm, 32.5 mm, 1 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS SC, Aeternitas enthroned left, holding phoenix (nimbate right) on globe and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1103A(a); BMCRE 1482-86; Cohen 15; Strack 1265; RCV 4606.​

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.79 gm, 31.4 mm, 12 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS SC, Aeternitas enthroned left, holding phoenix on globe and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1103A(b); BMCRE 1487-89; Cohen 17; Strack 1265; RCV 4606 var.
Note: Rare with veiled bust; Beckmann notes only two obverse dies with veiled busts paired with this reverse type.[8]​

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 10.91 gm, 27.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, ca. AD 155-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS SC, Aeternitas enthroned left, holding phoenix on globe and scepter.
Refs: RIC 1156(a); BMCRE 1549-50; Cohen 16; Strack 1265; RCV 4637.​

~~~

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. Welch, Bill. "Aeternitas on Roman Coins." What I Like About Ancient Coins, Forum Ancient Coins, https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/reverse_aeternitas.html.

4. Harris, Paul A, and Michael Crawford, editors. Time and Uncertainty (The Study of Time, Volume: 11). Brill, 2004, p. 179.

5. Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161; Second Revised Edition. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2021, p. 234.

6. Beckmann, op. cit., pp. 70-71.

7. Beckmann, op. cit., Die Chart 17.

8. Dies df 12 and df 17, ibid.

 

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@Roman Collector ...An informative and interesting write up as always.
Diva Faustina Sr, AR Denarius, Rome Mint, 18mm, 3.08 grams.
DIVA-FAVSTINA, draped bust right
AETER-NITAS, Aeternitas, standing front, facing left, holding globe, veil billowing out around her head and behind her.
RIC 351, RSC 32, BMC 373

 

Very nice coins and write up RC

 

Thank you for another fine Faustina Friday, @Roman Collector

As usual, I ransacked my small collection to see if I can contribute, and I found two, one with a question:

Here's the first one, a seated sestertius, and a question. This is, I believe, the very first Faustina AE I ever acquired, and I'd never photographed it (seller's photo below - it is better than mine!)

The question: your example has the reverse SC in the exergue. Mine has it in the fields. My concern is that I have misattributed this - the reverse legend is gone, so perhaps this is another type? A variation?


Faustina I Æ Sestertius
5th Phase: Anniversary of Faustina’s Deification
(c. 155-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right / [AETERNITAS] S [C] across fields, Aeternitas seated left on throne holding phoenix on globe and scepter.
RIC 1103A(a); BMC 1482-86.
(21.36 grams / 29 mm)
eBay July 2017 Lot $15.00

Here's the standing type, I think:


Faustina I Æ Sestertius
5th Phase: Anniversary of Faustina’s Deification
(c. 155-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right /[A]E[TERNITAS] S-C Aeternitas standing left, holding [phoenix nimbate right] on globe and holding up skirt.
RIC 1105a; BMCR 1490.
(25.21 grams / 30 mm)
eBay Jan. 2021 $17.49

 

Just remembered I do have a seated Aerternitas with phoenix but not as nice as the others shown....Although my photo doesn't do justice to it...
Diva Faustina Senior. Æ Sestertius (32mm, 21.19 g.)
Rome mint, struck under Antoninus Pius, circa AD 146-161.
Obv. DIVA FAVSTINA draped bust right.
Rev. AETERNITAS S-C seated left, holding scepter and globe surmounted by phoenix....RICIII #1103 A(a)(Antoninus Pius)
Reddish-brown patina.

 

Yours, like mine, has the SC in the fields, not the exergue.

To check this out, I did an acsearch for these - I got 139 hits (some stray silver, etc., but most were sestertii, RIC 1103). Of these, I found seven that had the SC in the fields. All the rest, the vast majority, had them in the exergue, like the @Roman Collector OP.

Main search: https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0

A few of the SC's in field:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1089895

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6884611

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=313668

So it seems this is just an unnoted variation. This seems odd, since the placement of the SC is a fairly significant design variation.

 

Thanks for another interesting Faustina Friday article, @Roman Collector

It would be nice if Aeternitas in my Faustina Senior aureus is holding a phoenix, instead of a bowl.

 

There are a lot of minor variations on these coins that have no known significance and are probably best understood as artistic license on the part of the die engravers. The obverse inscription may read DIVA-FAVSTINA or DIVAFAV-STINA. On the reverse, the S C may appear either in the exergue or in the field. Aeternitas is sometimes seated on a throne, and at other times on a low seat. The phoenix is usually nimbate, but not always. The phoenix may stand left or right.