Faustina Friday – The AVGVSTI PII FIL Reverse Types

And you know what that means!! It's Faustina Friday! Today we'll be talking about coins with the reverse inscription Augusti Pii Fil, which means daughter of Antoninus Pius.

Denominations and Types

The coinage of Faustina II issued late in the reign of Antoninus Pius is characterized by the obverse inscription FAVSTINA AVGVSTA with the filiation AVGVSTI PII FIL moved to the reverse. The reverses of this series feature in alphabetical order: Concordia (AR and Æ MB and sestertius), Diana (AV aureus and quinarius aureus), Pietas (Æ sestertius), Pudicitia (Æ sestertius), Salus (Æ MB), Spes (AR and Æ sestertius), and Venus Victrix (AR and Æ sestertius and MB). These deities and personifications are not explicitly labeled as such on the coins,[1] but are identified by their characteristic iconography and attributes. Mattingly notes the pairing of a variety of deities with a single inscription identifying the empress was a similar feature of coins for Faustina I, and suggests the "issue, perhaps, balances the AVGVSTA reverses of Diva Faustina the Elder, and, in both cases, the Empress may seem to be expressed in her true character though the divine figures associated with her name on reverse."[2]

Minor variations in reverse designs are known for certain issues. Left-facing bust varieties are known for many of the issues, though all of them are rare and appear only infrequently in the collectors' market. Unofficial issues with this reverse inscription are known. For example, @tenbobbit has a "contemporary imitation" bearing the image of Diana Lucifera and the AVGVSTI PII FIL reverse inscription! In addition, Cohen (nos. 31 and 32) cites Wiczay for some denarii, which were in turn cited uncritically by RIC (498 and 499); these do not represent separate issues but are examples of the Spes type that were erroneously described by Wiczay. I have discussed these in depth previously.

I shall illustrate each reverse type in all the denominations in which it is known. Unless noted otherwise, all coins shown are from my own collection. Let's see your AVGVSTI PII FIL reverse types or anything you feel is relevant!

Concordia

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.31 g, 16.3 mm, 6 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Concordia standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae.
Refs: RIC 496; BMCRE 1103-05; Cohen 21; RCV 4701; Strack 516; CRE 162.​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 22.20 g, 33.2 mm, 11 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Concordia standing left, holding patera and cornucopia.
Refs: RIC 1368; BMCRE 2198-99; Cohen 22; RCV 4710; Strack 1328 (Berlin, Paris, Vienna). ​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman Æ as, 11.41 g, 25.4 mm, 12 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Concordia standing left, holding patera and cornucopia.
Refs: RIC 1390; BMCRE 2203-04; Cohen 23; RCV 4722; Strack 1328 (Berlin, Paris, Vienna).​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 29.89 g, 31.0 mm, 6 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Concordia standing left and leaning on column, holding patera and cornucopia.
Refs: Strack 1328 (Munich, Naples, Milan, and St. Petersburg); RIC --; BMCRE --; Cohen --; RCV --.​

Diana

Aureus (RIC 494), British Museum collection (BMCRE 1096)​

Quinarius aureus (RIC 494a), British Museum collection (BMCRE 1098).​

Pietas

Sestertius (RIC 1369), ANS collection (1906.236.413)​

Pudicitia

Sestertius (RIC 1370a), Bertolami E-Auction 64, lot 844, 13 January 2019.​

Salus

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman Æ as, 11.69 g, 26.3 mm, 7 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Salus seated left, feeding out of patera in right hand a snake coiled round altar and holding scepter in left.
Refs: RIC 1391a; BMCRE p. 384*; Cohen 28; Strack 1331; Sear 4723.​

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Faustina Friday The AVGVSTI PII FIL Reverse Types (continued)

Spes

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.44 g, 16.6 mm, 7 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt.
Refs: RIC 497; BMCRE 1106-08; Cohen 24; RCV 4702; Strack 518; CRE 217.​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 29.89 g, 31.0 mm, 6 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising skirt.
Refs: RIC 1371; BMCRE 2200-01; Cohen 25; RCV 4711; Strack 1332.​

Venus Victrix

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.27 g, 17.8 mm, 6 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Venus standing left, holding Victory on right hand and resting left hand on shield set on helmet.
Refs: RIC 495a; BMCRE 1099-1101; RSC/Cohen 15; RCV 4700; Strack 519; CRE 235.​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.21 g, 17.1 mm, 5 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, left.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL, Venus standing left, holding Victory on right hand and resting left hand on shield set on helmet.
Refs: RIC 495b; BMCRE 1102; RSC 15a; Cohen --; RCV --; Strack 519; CRE 235.​

Sestertius (RIC 1367), British Museum collection (BMCRE 2195).​

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman Æ as or dupondius, 12.05 g, 25.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, August, AD 156-157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTI PII FIL S C, Venus Victrix standing facing, head left, holding Victory on extended right hand and resting left hand on shield, set on helmet.
Refs: RIC 1389a; BMCRE 2202; Cohen 17; Sear 4721; Strack 1333.​

Dating the Series

Absolute Chronology

Previous numismatists, venerable though they may be, struggled to date the issues with certainty. Mattingly[3] dates the series to c. 154-156 or 157, Strack to 156-158,[4] and Sear to somewhat later – AD 157-161,[5] despite the evidence set forth by Strack and Mattingly for an earlier date.

The most accurate date for the beginning of this issue, in my opinion, is that worked out by Curtis Clay (@curtislclay). After studying the types independently, he dates the introduction of the obverse legend FAVSTINA AVGVSTA to about August 156, two-thirds of the way through Antoninus' TR P XIX. He notes "At about the same time a similar Salus seated type to Faustina's, but omitting the goddess' scepter, was introduced on Antoninus' denarii with the rev. legend TR POT XIX COS IIII, and the same type was later continued with the date TR POT XX. Possibly these two Salus types were contemporaneous [with Faustina's FAVSTINA AVGVSTA/AVGVSTI PII FIL Salus seated as], meaning that Faustina's asses [of this reverse type] could be dated from Antoninus’ denarii to the same years 156-7."

An end date of AD 157 has been determined by Martin Beckmann in the course of his die-linkage study of the aurei of Faustina II.[6] Beckmann's study is entirely consistent with the dating worked out by Strack based upon a hoard of aurei found in Egypt in the 1920s.[7] The hoard included aurei of Pius dated by tribunician power to AD 143 (1 coin), 145 (1 coin), 146 (2 coins), 148 (1 coin), 149 (2 coins), 153 (2 coins), 154 (1 coin), 156 (6 coins), and 157 (29 coins). There are no later coins, so AD 157 is not only the terminal year of the hoard, but also the production year of half its contents. The hoard also included seven coins of Faustina II: 5 of Diana with a bow (filiation on reverse) and 2 of the Fecunditas seated with three children reverse (without filiation). Beckmann's die study shows clearly that these two types were in use exactly at the time when Faustina's filiation disappeared, marking the exact transition between coins with and without mention of her father.[8]

Martin Beckmann's die-linkage chart demonstrating the loss of filiation with the appearance of the DIANA LVCIF and FECVNDITATI AVGVSTAE reverse types.​

Beckmann's study, combined with Strack's hoard analysis conclusively demonstrates that Faustina's coinage with the FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL reverse legend ceased in AD 157.

The first coins to appear without the filiation on the reverse are types that reference childbirth: DIANA LVCIF and FECVNDITATI AVGVSTAE.

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 2.83 g, 18 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 157.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: DIANA LVCIF, Diana standing left, holding long transverse lighted torch with both hands.
Refs: RIC 674; BMCRE 87-88; Cohen 85; Strack 520b; RCV 5250; MIR 7-4/10a; CRE 174.​

Aureus (RIC 679), ANS collection (1958.223.10), depicting Faustina as Fecunditas holding an infant boy (nude, therefore male) with two girls standing alongside her.​

By 157, Faustina had previously delivered four children: Domitia Faustina, born 30 November 147, Lucilla, born 7 March 149, Faustina III, born 150/151, and T. Aelius Antoninus, born 152. However, Domitia Faustina died some time in AD 150 or 151, and T. Aelius Antoninus died in infancy or early childhood. Therefore, at the beginning of AD 157, only Lucilla and Faustina III were still alive. The appearance of the Diana Lucifera and Fecunditas reverse types coincides with and illustrates the addition of a male heir (T. Aelius Aurelius?) to the family in late 157.[9] Beckmann comments that as a result of the birth of a male heir, "Faustina was no longer presented as the daughter of Antoninus Pius, but rather simply as 'Faustina Augusta;' this marked a significant development in the public image of the empress."[10]

Relative Chronology

Were the hybrid denarius pairing the antecedent FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL obverse type with the AVGVSTI PII FIL/Venus Victrix reverse type (RSC 15b) a genuine error produced by the mint in Rome, it would establish the Venus Victrix reverse type as the earliest in the series. However, the coin is plated[11] and almost certainly an ancient fourrée counterfeit. Therefore, it is of no value in establishing a relative chronology for the series. Beckmann's die study demonstrates that obverse dies used with the Diana standing with bow reverse type were also used for the subsequent DIANA LVCIF and FECVNDITATI AVGVSTAE reverse types.[12] While this might suggest the Diana reverse type was the last of the series to be minted, Beckmann only studied the aurei. As noted above, the Diana reverse type is the only one in the series that appears in gold, so it is of little value in establishing a relative chronology for the other reverse types in the series. A relative chronology therefore remains elusive.

~~~

Notes

1. Because all coins bear AVGVSTI PII FIL on the reverse.

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. xciii.

3. Mattingly, Harold, op cit., p. xliv. Elsewhere, Mattingly and Sydenham note, "A recent find of Roman gold in Egypt suggests that the omission of this title [AVGVSTI PII FIL] dates from not later than AD 156-157." See Mattingly, Harold and Sydenham, Edward A. The Roman imperial coinage, vol. 3: Antoninus Pius to Commodus, London, Spink, 1986, p. 3, n. 3.

4. As noted by Dinsdale, Paul H. Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 340 and Dinsdale, Paul H. The Reign of Marcus Aurelius with Lucius Verus and Commodus AD 161-180. Leeds, Paul H Dinsdale, 2018, p. 50.

5. Sear, David R. Roman Coins and Their Values II: The accession of Nerva to the overthrow of the Severan dynasty AD 96 - AD 235, London, Spink, 2002, p. 285.

6. Beckmann, Martin, Faustina the Younger: Coinage, Portraits, and Public Image, A.N.S. Numismatic Studies 43, American Numismatic Society, New York, 2021, pp. 50-53.

7. Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Stuttgart 1937, p. 18.

8. Beckmann, op. cit., p. 52-53.

9. See my summary of Faustina's pregnancies here. It is based on the work of Levick, Barbara. Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 115-117.

10. Beckmann, op cit., p. 53.

11. BMCRE p.164† and RSC 15a, p. 189, each citing the plated denarius in the T.O. Mabbott collection as described in Frankfurter Münzzeitung, February 1933, p.28.

12. Beckmann, op. cit., pp. 51-52.

 

Thanks for your another nice writeup, @Roman Collector.
Interesting info regarding the relation between AVGVSTI PII FIL reverse and the obverse FAVSTINA AVGVSTA.

In looking at my tiny selection of Faustina II coins, I only have one sestertius that fits this time period...

 

Huzzah for Faustina Friday; nice job as always @Roman Collector I had more of these than I thought. My attributions are old - now that this post has enlightened me on date of issue, I need to do some revising:


Faustina II Æ As
(c. 145-146 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / AVGVSTI [PII] FIL S-C, Concordia standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae.
RIC 1390.
(9.94 grams / 23 mm)
eBay April 2019


Faustina II Æ As
(c. 156-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / AVGVSTI PII FIL, Venus standing left holding victory and leaning on shield set on helmet.
RIC 1389a; Cohen 17.
(9.28 grams / 24 mm)
eBay June 2018

A rough sestertius with some reverse tooling by a non-expert:

Faustina II Æ Sestertius
(145-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA [AVGVSTA], draped bust right, chignon / AV[GVSTI PII] FIL S C, Venus, standing left, holding Victory & leaning on shield set on helmet.
RIC 1367; BMC 2195
(22.93 grams / 29 mm)
eBay Apr. 2018

Some silver:

Faustina II Denarius
(c. 145-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA draped bust right / AVGVSTI PII FIL Venus standing left holding Victory, resting hand on shield set on helmet.
RIC 495a; RSC 15; BMC 1099
(3.02 grams / 17 mm)
eBay Mar. 2017


Faustina II Denarius
(145-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA,
bare-headed bust draped right /
AVGVSTI PII FIL, Concordia draped standing left holding patera and cornucopia.
RIC 496; Sear 4701; RSC 21.
(3.24 grams / 15 mm)
eBay Feb. 2019

 

That's lovely! I think the same flan-production worker made each of our coins' squarish flans. Here's mine, which formerly belonged to @Justin Lee.

Thank you for the kind words and for sharing items from your extensive Faustina collection! I STILL need a sestertius with the Venus Victrix reverse type.