Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3769772, member: 75937"]As always, post anything you feel is relevant! Though Nero is credited with introducing the radiate crown -- representing the rays of the sun -- on his dupondii to indicate they were a double denomination (two asses), dupondii issued for empresses continued to be issued for well over a century with a draped bust, without any features apart from metallic composition to distinguish them from the as denomination. When patinated, it can be impossible to distinguish between an as and a dupondius of coins issued for an empress through the beginning of the third century. When Caracalla introduced the double denarius (antoninianus), he adopted the convention of the radiate crown to indicate a double denomination, analogous to the relationship of the dupondius to the as. He also issued antoniniani for his mother, Julia Domna. Because the moon is the feminine equivalent of the sun, a crescent on the shoulders -- as depicted in the iconography of Juno Lucina -- was adopted to indicate the value of the antoninianus on her coinage. Portrait of Julia Domna depicting the empress on a crescent moon: [ATTACH=full]1008530[/ATTACH]Julia Domna AD 193-217, issued under Caracalla.Roman AR Antoninianus, 5.13 g; 23.1 mm.Rome, AD 216.Obv: IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, diademed and draped bust, right, on crescent.Rev: VENVS GENETRIX, Venus enthroned left, right hand extended, holding scepter in left.Refs: RIC 388a; BMCRE 22, Cohen 211; RCV 7098; Hill 1528; CRE 391. Nonetheless, this convention was not adopted for the dupondius denomination for coins of the empresses during the reigns of Caracalla or Elagabalus, despite the continued use of the radiate crown on the antoninianus. For the first few years of Severus Alexander's reign (AD 222-235), the dupondii of his mother, Julia Mamaea, continued to use the same bust style as that of asses issued for her, a diademed and draped bust. However, the ninth issue of the reign, AD 228,[1] witnessed the introduction of the crescent on the dupondii issued for Mamaea to indicate a double denomination and to distinguish them from the as. However, as Ian Sellers cautions, "this is not systematic and cannot be used to reliably differentiate dupondii from asses at this time."[2] However, the use of the crescent on dupondii issued for subsequent empresses, such as Tranquillina, Otacilia Severa and Herennia Etruscilla, did become standard,[3] though this seems to have been discontinued by the time of Valerian, as dupondii of Mariniana do not depict her on a crescent. There are three dupondius types issued for Julia Mamaea using the crescent as a mark of value: FELICITAS PVBLICA, depicting Felicitas standing, leaning on a column (RIC 678, BMCRE 493-94); FELICITAS TEMP, depicting Felicitas standing (RIC 682, BMCRE 532-33), and a later FELICITAS PVBLICA issue depicting the goddess seated left (RIC 681; BMCRE 665). Although listed in RIC[4] and Cohen[5], the FELICITAS AVG type depicting Felicitas standing (RIC 673, Cohen 12) probably does not exist with an obverse portrait depicting the empress resting on a crescent. Mattingly cites Cohen and Cohen cites no authority or museum collection. The British Museum does not own a specimen and no examples are to be found at the usual online databases, such as acsearchinfo, ORCE, Wildwinds, The Coin Project, and Coryssa. I have examples of the first two such dupondii, issued in AD 228: [ATTACH=full]1008558[/ATTACH]Julia Mamaea, AD 222-235.Roman orichalcum dupondius, 10.10 g, 24.3 mm, 12 h.Rome, issue 9A, AD 228.Obv: IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, diademed and draped bust, right, on crescent.Rev: FELICITAS PVBLICA S C, Felicitas standing front, head left, legs crossed, holding caduceus transversely to left, and resting left arm on low column, like she's Joe Cool or something.Refs: RIC 678; BMCRE 493-94; Cohen 23; RCV 8238.Notes: Ex- [USER=76086]@Ken Dorney[/USER]. This coin was also issued in the denarius, sesterius, and as denominations.[6] [ATTACH=full]1008559[/ATTACH]Julia Mamaea, AD 222-235.Roman orichalcum dupondius, 7.55 g, 23.1 mm, 12 h.Rome, issue 9B, AD 228.Obv: IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, diademed and draped bust, right, on crescent.Rev: FELICITAS TEMP S C, Felicitas standing left, holding long caduceus and cornucopiae.Refs: RIC 682; BMCRE 532-33; Cohen 29; RCV 8240.Notes: Ex-CNG electronic auction 400, lot 674, June 28, 2017. The FELICITAS TEMP reverse legend on coins of Mamaea is limited to this issue. A third type, RIC 681, BMCRE 665, is illustrated by <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4492165" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4492165" rel="nofollow">this example</a> sold by Busso Peus, auction 420, lot 403, Nov. 1, 2017: [ATTACH=full]1008575[/ATTACH] ~~~ 1. All of the dating of these issues is taken from Carson, Robert A. G. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum. Vol. VI: Severus Alexander to Balbinus and Pupienus, British Museum, 1962, pp. 66-67, 73, 161-164, 179. 2. Sellers, Ian. The Monetary System of the Romans: A Description of the Roman Coinage from Early Times to the Reform of Anastasius. Ian Sellers, 2013, p. 245. 3. Ibid, p. 265. 4. Mattingly, Harold and Sydenham, Edward A. The Roman imperial coinage, vol. 4, Part 1: Pertinax to Geta. London, Spink, 1936, p. 125. 5. Cohen, Henry. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome IV: de Septime Sévère à Maxime (193 à 238 après J.-C.). Paris, 1880, p. 491. 6. See below for examples of the denarius, sestertius, and as versions from my collection. The aureus, RIC 334, Cohen 18, probably doesn't exist. Mattingly (op. cit., p. 98) cites Cohen (op. cit., p. 492), who cites no museum collections, but only the notoriously unreliable catalog of Wiczay's collection (Wiczay, Michael A. and Felice Caronni. Musei Hedervarii in Hungaria numos antiquos graecos et latinos descripsit. Vol. 2, Caronni, Vienna 1814. Available online <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0LpSAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0LpSAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="nofollow">here</a>).[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches