Faustina Friday – The Apotheosis of Faustina the Younger

Happy Friday, everybody! In this week's installment, I shall discuss this new acquisition, a sestertius issued posthumously for Faustina the Younger issued to commemorate her consecration and apotheosis. I have previously written about coins depicting the consecration of Faustina II.

Diva Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.23 g, 30.2 mm, 11 h.
Rome, early AD 176.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, veiled and draped bust, right.
Rev: CONSECRATIO S C, Faustina II carried by an eagle flying left, holding transverse scepter in her right hand and with veil decorated with stars floating above her head.
Ref: RIC 1701; BMC 1572; Cohen 68; RCV 5226; MIR –; Cayón p.153, 32.​

The coin appears to be quite scarce. A review of the literature and online databases identifies only three other examples. Cohen cites an example in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[1] I illustrate the British Museum specimen below.

BMCRE 1572.[2]​

The third example is this one from Cayón.

Cayón 32.[3]​

My coin is a double-die match to these two illustrated examples. I have been unable to locate a photograph of the BnF specimen in France.

About the iconography

The coin depicts the late empress being carried aloft to the celestial realm by the eagle of Jupiter.[4] The inscription CONSECRATIO made its first appearance in Roman numismatics on the coinage of Marciana, and thereafter became the standard employed for issues of the divae and divi for centuries. Interestingly, the earliest Roman consecration issues depict eagles, even for the women of the imperial family. This reverse design was previously used on a sestertius issued for Faustina the Elder.

RIC 1134; BMCRE 1428. British Museum collection[5]​

This comes as no surprise. Although the obverse legends differ between the two Faustinas, and there were reverse types issued that were unique for each empress, there was considerable overlap in the reverse designs issue for the two deified imperial women. It was very much a "like mother, like daughter" situation when it came to their consecration issues.

The Antonine period was a time of transition from using the eagle of Zeus as a symbol of an empress' consecration to using the peacock of Juno to symbolize this idea. Both peacocks and eagles were used on the consecration coinage of the Faustinas. On this issue of similar design, Faustina the Younger is borne aloft into the celestial realm of Aeternitas by the Peacock of Juno.

Diva Faustina II, AD 147-175/6.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.28 g, 32.2 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 176 or later.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, bare-headed and draped bust right.
Rev: CONSECRATIO S C, Faustina, holding scepter, seated left on back of peacock flying upward to right.
Refs: RIC 1702; BMCRE 1570-71; Cohen 69; RCV 5227; MIR 56.​

And on this rare sestertius in the British Museum collection, Faustina is taken to Aeternitas by the winged figure of Victory!

RIC 1699; BMCRE 1567.[6] ​

But after the Antonine period, only the peacock of Juno was used on the consecration issues in honor of the various deified empresses. I have written about this previously.

The star-spangled veil billowing behind the empress' head represents the starry mantle of the sky. It is a common attribute of Aeternitas,[7] seen here on this sestertius of Faustina the Elder in my collection.

Faustina I, AD 138-141.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.54 g, 33 mm.
Rome, AD 150-161.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS S C, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle.
Refs: RIC 1106; BMCRE 1495-97; Cohen 30; Sear 4610; Strack 1262.​

Dating the issue

Faustina died during the winter of AD 175-176, probably in November of 175,[8] at Halala, a small town in the Taurus Mountains of Cappadocia, where Marcus had been campaigning following the collapse of the revolt of Avidius Cassius. Her husband mourned her greatly and honored her by deifying her and by renaming Halala to Faustinopolis. Allowing time for the official news to make its way back to Italy, and for the preparation of suitable dies, posthumous coinage issued for her would then have commenced at Rome early in 176.

The first issues for the deified empress feature her Mater Castrorum title, which was granted to Faustina near the end of her life,[9] as it does not appear earlier; and both are set in the dative case, which also makes a rare appearance during the last phase of the lifetime-issues, including on MATRI CASTRORVM coins. There are two such coins, one with the MATR CASTROR title on the obverse and featuring another bearing the title on the reverse. These were probably issued concurrently.[10]

Shortly thereafter, there came into use two nominative case inscriptions, DIVA AVG FAVSTINA, followed not long afterward by DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, which continued to be used for a period of years. We know the DIVA AVG FAVSTINA inscription precedes the DIVA FAVSTINA PIA inscription because it is used with the funeral pyre that had also been used on the earlier funeral pyre coins with the dative obverse inscription, even possibly slightly overlapping them. The CONSECRATIO S C, eagle bearing the empress to heaven issue must have immediately followed the funeral pyre issues bearing the DIVAE FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR inscription because this reverse design is known with both the DIVAE FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR legend and the DIVA FAVSTINA PIA legend discussed above.

Sestertius (RIC 1700; BMCRE 1551) Reverse type CONSECRATIO S C, Faustina II carried by an eagle flying left, but featuring the earlier DIVAE FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR obverse legend. British Museum specimen.​

On coins bearing the DIVA FAVSTINA PIA obverse legend, the funeral pyre reverse is not used, showing that this inscription is likely later than the DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend, though there may have been some overlap. Moreover, the use of both the DIVA FAVSTINA PIA and the FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR legends with the eagle bearing Faustina aloft reverse type indicates this type must have quickly followed the funeral pyre reverse types (again, there may have been some overlap).

Therefore, the following issues must have been issued in early AD 176, likely in the following order: The MATRI CASTRORVM type with Faustina seated left behind three legionary standards and the funeral pyre reverse type with the FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR obverse inscription issued concurrently. This is overlapped and followed by the funeral pyre with the DIVA AVG FAVSTINA legend and by the eagle bearing Faustina to heaven issue with the FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR obverse inscription, followed by the eagle bearing Faustina to heaven issue with the DIVA FAVSTINA PIA obverse inscription. Thus, a date of early AD 176 is securely established for my new coin.

However, the FAVSTIN AVG MATR CASTROR legend is limited to the funeral pyre and eagle flying left reverse types, indicating only a short period of overlap with the later legends. The DIVA FAVSTINA PIA legend continues for a varied series of posthumous reverses, that continued to be issued for a considerable period. It is probable that coins continued to be issued for Diva Faustina until the death of Aurelius in 180, and possibly into the early period of the reign of Commodus.[11]

Let's see your Diva Faustina II issues or anything you feel is relevant!

~~~

Notes

1. 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, no. 68, p. 141.

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. 653.

3. Cayón, Juan R., Los Sestercios del Imperio Romano, vol. III, De Marco Aurelio A Caracalla (Del 161 d.C. al 217 d.C., Madrid, 1984 p.153, 32. Cayón gathers illustrations of sestertii mainly from auction catalogues, and usually cites the source, which can be verified and a full reference given. However, and unfortunately, in this case he uses a question mark in the list of sources for the illustrations; this apparently means that he failed to record where he found this illustration.

4. Mattingly, op. cit., p. cxliv. Mattingly summarizes the identity of all the winged figures upon which Faustina is carried to heaven in one concise statement: “She has been translated aloft, whether by the eagle of Jupiter, the peacock of Juno, or the winged Victory of Aeternitas herself.”

5. Ibid., p. 231.

6. Ibid., p. 652.

7. Ibid., p. lxxxiii.

8. Szaivert, Wolfgang, Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161/192), Moneta Imperii Romani 18. Vienna, 1989, p. 235.

9. Levick associates the granting of this title with Aurelius seventh Imperial salutation (IMP VII) which occurred in mid-174. See Levick, Barbara. Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 78.

10. Our member, @Aestimare (personal communication, 29 August 2020), has established a die-linkage connecting the two legends.

11. Dinsdale, Paul H. The Imperial Coinage of the Middle Antonines: Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 447.

 

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Interesting post, @Roman Collector .

 

Another great informative post, @Roman Collector ! I've learned more about the coinage of the Faustinas from your thorough work than anywhere else. I think you have enough of these posts now to compile your dissertation!

 

another fine coin and installment of the Friday Faustinas RC......happy Friday everyone!

 

I LOVE IT!!

 

Thank you for the kind words!

 

Thanks! Have a great weekend!

 

Pretty cool. Doesn’t Diva Mariniana have a same or similar reverse type?

 

Yes, flying on a peacock.