Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Roman Collector, post: 4808010, member: 75937&quot;][USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER] ! I&#039;ve had a chance to really research your coin and I&#039;m confident it&#039;s Fadilla. Moreover, I&#039;m confident that Mattingly misdescribed your coin in both RIC3 and BMCRE4. Let&#039;s take a look at an extremely well-preserved specimen, <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1872-0709-653" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1872-0709-653" rel="nofollow">BMCRE 2062</a> in the British Museum:[ATTACH=full]1166946[/ATTACH]</p><p>Note two things:</p><ul> <li>The obverse inscription may actually read &quot;...TR P XXIII&quot;</li> <li>The child on the reverse is clothed. This suggests, but does not prove, that it&#039;s a female child.</li> </ul><p>Now, in terms of the inscription, Paul Dinsdale ([USER=110988]@paulus_dinius[/USER]), <a href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Antoninus/33%20-%20Antoninus%20Pius%20-%20TR%20POT%20XXII%20Period%20-%20158-159%20%28med_res%29.pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Antoninus/33%20-%20Antoninus%20Pius%20-%20TR%20POT%20XXII%20Period%20-%20158-159%20%28med_res%29.pdf" rel="nofollow">p. 545</a>, writes:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>It is extremely doubtful that any specimens read TR P XXII on obv., but actually read TR P XXIII with either the final ‘I’ being merged with the neck truncation, or, owing to a die flaw, the final two numerals being obscured (see illustrated details). British Museum (1867,0101.2068) = BMCRE 2061 has been tooled to read TR P XXI on obv., whilst British Museum (1872,0709.653) = BMCRE 2062 clearly reads TR P XXIII. Strack lists three specimens, including one of those from the B.M., but cites as a source of illustration a specimen in Dr Jacob Hirsch, Munich (Auction 34, Gutekunst), 5.5.1914, pl.34, 1125, which again clearly reads TR P XXIII.Cohen cites a specimen from Copenhagen –unsubstantiated by Strack.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>TR P XXIII is clearly seen on the corresponding aureus in the British Museum, <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_G3-RIG-231" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_G3-RIG-231" rel="nofollow">BMCRE 984</a>:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166950[/ATTACH]</p><p>Therefore, the coin must date to AD 159/160, not 158/159, and it is therefore Fadilla.</p><p><br /></p><p>On a related note, these two coins, <a href="http://numismatics.org/collection/1958.223.10" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/collection/1958.223.10" rel="nofollow">RIC 679</a> and <a href="http://numismatics.org/collection/1955.191.16" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/collection/1955.191.16" rel="nofollow">RIC 682</a>, each in the ANS collection clearly refer to Faustina&#039;s fecundity and depict a naked child, which quite likely indicates a baby boy, along with two older children. Although they are undated, I propose that they date to AD 158, the first year Faustina used the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA legend without filiation (such as PII AVG FIL)* and depict the male child born either in 157 or 158 but who died in infancy.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166968[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1166969[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I know [USER=89514]@curtislclay[/USER] was doing a study of the coins of the Antonine dynasty to work out the chronology of the various births. I hope he&#039;ll have a chance to stop by and offer his thoughts.</p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>*Both Strack and Szaivert assign a date of AD 158 to the commencement of these issues. Levick suggests (p. 63) that this change in status from Faustina, daughter of Antoninus Pius, to Faustina Augusta alone was because she had given birth to a male heir. However, she argues (without much in the way of numismatic evidence to support this) that this happened in 152, after giving birth to T. Aelius Antoninus that year. Mattingly and Sydenham note (RIC p. 3, n. 3), &quot;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.&quot; Mattingly notes elsewhere (BMC pp. xciii-xciv), &quot;To the last few years of the reign [of Antoninus Pius] belong the beginnings of the great coinage, with FAVSTINA AVGVSTA on obverse and named reverses, which continues till her death in AD 175.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in