Favorite Roman Portraits

I have been working on my third century Gallienus-centric set for while now and have had a harder time finding higher quality "AR" Gallienus joint reign coins. Specifically an early portrait with eye appeal and without the boxy portraiture of his later coinage.

This new acquisition is just what i was looking for with both quality and style. Yes, there is a bit of vergis here and there, but the high style of the portrait, the esthetic detail, and mutton chops is seldom seen on coins of Gallienus making this coin my favorite portrait coin.
The reverse is not have bad either IMO.

Share your favorite Roman portraits!!



Gallienus, AR Antoninianus, 253 AD,
Joint Reign, Rome.
IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, Radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from behind
PAX AVGG, Pax standing left, holding branch and transverse sceptre. RIC V-I 155; Göbl 27t; Sear 10300 var; Cunetio 972; RSC 754.

 

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Not my favorite portrait (that would be a Septimius) but my favorite Gallienus portrait is this military lefty with Medusa shield.


Showing you don't get everything you want in one coin is my price bracket is this more ordinary right facer with the same GERMANICVS MAX V reverse. While the portrait lacks the appeal of the first, this one has a reverse I can accept.

 

I dont have a Gallienus to share so I will go with my personal favorite portrait.

I have shown this one a couple of times.

In only the few years I have been collecting ancients, I have determined Faustina I to be my favorite roman portrait. In fact because of this particular sestertius I have found it very difficult to purchase another coin of her because they just dont compare to this one.
This is my favorite roman portrait

FAUSTINA I
AE Sestertius
Rome after 141 AD
DIVA FAV-STINA Draped bust right
AETERNITAS, SC in fields. Aeternitas seated left holding phoenix on globe and sceptre.
RIC 1103a, Sear 4606, BMC 1482, Cohen 15
30.43 grams, 32mm

 

my fav has got to be my Septimius Severus, killer beard...

 

RIC VI, Londinium, No. 20, Constantius, Caesar of the West
CT (Cloke & Toone), No. 2.01.010 (1), c. AD 296-303, Rarity: C


FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C ........................... GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

Laureate, cuirassed, bust with long ribbon tie laying on neck.
9.8 gm.

 

kool..i guess my favorite portraits are Nero As and Otacilia sest. in mine

 

I'll throw in a Phillip...nice and shiny and a bit toned. Gallienus portraits are always interesting, so I'll pile on with that one as well...









One of Sol's horses on the reverse...

 

My only Gallienus is an Ex Dattari Egyptian tet.



My favourite portrait is this Vespasian.

 

As Doug said, my Gallienus portraits are from from my favorites. However, these two stand out from the rest of my Gallienus coins.

 

Also, I like to compare portraits with sculpted busts...here's one of Gallienus with a bit of a worried look:

 

Fantastic portrait of Septimius!

Yes, the forked beard of Septimius Severus. Did it really look like that? Or were the forks added to his portraiture to exaggerate and/or emphasize his beard and his resemblance to the Antonines?

They usually seem to me to have been sort of "tacked on" by the engraver.

This is one of my favorite Septimius portraits on one of my own coins. Here he looks like a real human being. The proportions of his head are correct, and his facial features are rendered in such a way that they seem to be those of an actual person.

Septimius Severus. AR denarius, Rome mint, struck 210–1 CE; 3.06g. BMCRE p. 368, Hill —, RIC 331 (R. It. 1908, p. 388)(S), RSC 137a. Obv: SEVERVS PIVS – AVG BRIT; head laureate right. Rx: FELICITAS PVBLICA; Felicitas standing facing, head left, holding caduceus and cornucopia. Rare. VF.

 

I am just contrary enough that the forked beard portraits rank well below my SS favorites. I prefer the early ones of Rome and the Eastern mints.

 

I have one joint-reign-era silver of Gallienus, and one of Valerian:

Gallienus. 253–68 CE. AR antoninianus, Samosata mint, struck 255–6 CE; 21mm, 3.33g. RIC V 448, RSC IV 902. Obv: IMP C D LIC GALLIENVS AVG; radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rx: RESTITVT ORI–ENTIS; Oriens standing right, presenting wreath to emperor standing left, holding scepter. MS.

Valerian I. 253–60 CE. AR antoninianus, Rome mint, struck 253–60; 22mm, 4.31g. RIC IV 97 var (billon)., RSC IV 101a var (obverse bust and legend). Obv: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS P F AVG; radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rx: LAETITIA AVGG; Laetitia standing left, holding wreath and anchor (or rudder?). This coin is a variant of RSC 101a, for which the bust is radiate and draped right without cuirass, and which bears the obverse legend IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG without P F. Probably ex jewelry, but otherwise near MS.

 

Nice!

This is one of my favorite portraits

 

I like the early ones, too. I'm not a big fan of the forks themselves on the later portraits, as they seem to be more artistic exaggeration than rendering from life. What I do like about the later portraits are the more naturalistic facial features that are probably very similar to what he actually looked like.

 

Wow, the top portrait is outstanding! Incredible hair and face.

 

Certainly is a great portrait of Gallienus, although I tend to focus more on the reverse, my favorite portrait at the moment would be this Titus denarius 79AD.

 

A Little appreciation for the later Romans is in order:

 

Another one of my favorites. An admirable portrait of Decius, better than most:

Trajan Decius. 249–51 CE. AR antoninianus, Rome mint, struck 249–51; 3.95g. RIC IV 12b, RSC IV 16. Obv: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG; radiate and cuirassed bust right. Rx: DACIA; Dacia, standing left, holding staff surmounted with head of ass.* Old cabinet tone; EF.

*As Van Meter points out, “Cohen describes the staff as surmounted by the head of an ass. This is actually a Draco battle standard indigenous among Dacian troops.”

ex The CG Collection of Roman Coins, NAC 80, 20 October 2014, lot 186

 

Nice, very expressive portrait.