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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 5264090, member: 75937"]With the acquisition of the middle bronze of this reverse type in Frank Robinson's latest auction, I have completed my mini set of coins bearing this reverse motif. The type depicts Aeternitas[1] standing facing, head left, holding a globe in her extended right hand and raising a starry veil over her head with her left hand. Mattingly identifies the starry veil as representing "the starry mantle of the sky."[2]</p><p><br /></p><p>The stars on the veil which billows out behind Aeternitas' head are often poorly rendered by the die-engraver, and are typically nonexistent on the denarius, which led to some doubt as to the identity of the obverse figure on this denomination.[3] However, on some examples of the coin, such as <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3730888" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3730888">Zumbly's</a>, the stars of the heavens appear on Aeternitas' midriff. On my examples, the stars are seen unequivocally only on the sestertius denomination. </p><p><br /></p><p>Coins of this reverse type were issued in the denarius, sestertius, and middle bronze[4] denominations. Like all of Faustina's coins bearing the AETERNITAS reverse legend in conjunction with the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription, they were part of a massive issue which commenced in AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the empress' death in late (November?) AD 140. The iconography is clear in its allegory: the deified empress, Diva Faustina, resides for eternity in the celestial sphere.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Post anything you feel is relevant! </i></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1219966[/ATTACH] </p><p>Faustina I, AD 138-141.</p><p>Roman AR denarius, 3.26 g, 18.4 mm, 5 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 150 and later.</p><p>Obv: DIVA FAV-STINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: AETERNITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe and grasping veil which billows behind her.</p><p>Refs: RIC 351; BMCRE 373-381; Cohen/RSC 32; Strack 447; RCV 4578; CRE 121.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-sr-aeternitas-aeternitas-globe-and-billowing-veil-sestertius-jpg.1031740/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Faustina I, AD 138-141.</p><p>Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.49 g, 31.4 mm, 5 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 150 and later.</p><p>Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle.</p><p>Refs: RIC 1106; BMCRE 1495-97; Cohen 30; Strack 1262; RCV 4610.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1219967[/ATTACH] </p><p>Faustina I, AD 138-141.</p><p>Roman copper alloy as or dupondius, 13.38 g, 27.2 mm, 5 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 150 and later.</p><p>Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle.</p><p>Refs: RIC 1158; BMCRE 1548; Cohen 31; Strack 1262; RCV 4643.</p><p>Notes: Obverse die match to the <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8" rel="nofollow">British Museum specimen</a>, a dupondius.</p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Mattingly, in both RIC3 and BMCRE4, tentatively but mistakenly identifies the figure on the denarius version of the coin as Providentia, but correctly identifies the reverse figure as Aeternitas in his descriptions of the bronze denominations of the coin and in the introduction to BMCRE4. I have discussed this previously in <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349">this thread</a>.</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. lxxxiii.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. I have <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349">discussed this previously</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. I have not encountered a specimen that could be unequivocally identified as an as. The specimens in the <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8" rel="nofollow">British Museum</a> and the <a href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.1158_dupondius" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.1158_dupondius" rel="nofollow">University of Göttingen collection</a> are dupondii, as is the <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/two-final-coins-and-one-return-for-2019.352536/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/two-final-coins-and-one-return-for-2019.352536/">specimen</a> in [USER=100136]@thejewk[/USER]'s collection. The <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1364907" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1364907" rel="nofollow">only example at acsearchinfo</a> is identified as a dupondius by the auction firm. There are no examples of the coin at Wildwinds, CNG's archives, or The Coin Project with which to compare.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 5264090, member: 75937"]With the acquisition of the middle bronze of this reverse type in Frank Robinson's latest auction, I have completed my mini set of coins bearing this reverse motif. The type depicts Aeternitas[1] standing facing, head left, holding a globe in her extended right hand and raising a starry veil over her head with her left hand. Mattingly identifies the starry veil as representing "the starry mantle of the sky."[2] The stars on the veil which billows out behind Aeternitas' head are often poorly rendered by the die-engraver, and are typically nonexistent on the denarius, which led to some doubt as to the identity of the obverse figure on this denomination.[3] However, on some examples of the coin, such as [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3730888']Zumbly's[/URL], the stars of the heavens appear on Aeternitas' midriff. On my examples, the stars are seen unequivocally only on the sestertius denomination. Coins of this reverse type were issued in the denarius, sestertius, and middle bronze[4] denominations. Like all of Faustina's coins bearing the AETERNITAS reverse legend in conjunction with the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription, they were part of a massive issue which commenced in AD 150 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the empress' death in late (November?) AD 140. The iconography is clear in its allegory: the deified empress, Diva Faustina, resides for eternity in the celestial sphere. [I]Post anything you feel is relevant! [/I] [ATTACH=full]1219966[/ATTACH] Faustina I, AD 138-141. Roman AR denarius, 3.26 g, 18.4 mm, 5 h. Rome, AD 150 and later. Obv: DIVA FAV-STINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe and grasping veil which billows behind her. Refs: RIC 351; BMCRE 373-381; Cohen/RSC 32; Strack 447; RCV 4578; CRE 121. [IMG]https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/faustina-sr-aeternitas-aeternitas-globe-and-billowing-veil-sestertius-jpg.1031740/[/IMG] Faustina I, AD 138-141. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.49 g, 31.4 mm, 5 h. Rome, AD 150 and later. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle. Refs: RIC 1106; BMCRE 1495-97; Cohen 30; Strack 1262; RCV 4610. [ATTACH=full]1219967[/ATTACH] Faustina I, AD 138-141. Roman copper alloy as or dupondius, 13.38 g, 27.2 mm, 5 h. Rome, AD 150 and later. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle. Refs: RIC 1158; BMCRE 1548; Cohen 31; Strack 1262; RCV 4643. Notes: Obverse die match to the [URL='https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8']British Museum specimen[/URL], a dupondius. ~~~ 1. Mattingly, in both RIC3 and BMCRE4, tentatively but mistakenly identifies the figure on the denarius version of the coin as Providentia, but correctly identifies the reverse figure as Aeternitas in his descriptions of the bronze denominations of the coin and in the introduction to BMCRE4. I have discussed this previously in [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349']this thread[/URL]. 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. lxxxiii. 3. I have [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-i-denarius-scarce-aeternitas-type.317976/#post-3914349']discussed this previously[/URL]. 4. I have not encountered a specimen that could be unequivocally identified as an as. The specimens in the [URL='https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1937-1006-8']British Museum[/URL] and the [URL='http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.1158_dupondius']University of Göttingen collection[/URL] are dupondii, as is the [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/two-final-coins-and-one-return-for-2019.352536/']specimen[/URL] in [USER=100136]@thejewk[/USER]'s collection. The [URL='https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1364907']only example at acsearchinfo[/URL] is identified as a dupondius by the auction firm. There are no examples of the coin at Wildwinds, CNG's archives, or The Coin Project with which to compare.[/QUOTE]
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