Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
What makes this coin so special?
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3322319, member: 75937"]That is indeed Faustina as Fecunditas standing between two children and holding two others. And that's a pretty good reason to buy such a coin, but it's not what makes that particular coin special. You see, I have this one, too ...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]880627[/ATTACH]</p><p>Faustina II, AD 147-175.</p><p>Roman oricalchum dupondius, 12.45 gm, 27.1 mm, 12 h.</p><p>Rome, AD 157-161.</p><p>Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</p><p>Rev: FECVND AVGVSTAE S C, (Faustina as) Fecunditas standing left, between two children (thought to represent Faustina III and Lucilla), holding two infants in her arms (thought to represent Commodus and Antoninus).</p><p>Refs: RIC 1636; BMCRE 977-979; Cohen 97; RCV 5294.</p><p>Notes: Ex-Henry Chapman, 1921.</p><p><br /></p><p>It differs from the OP coin in a number of ways. It's considerably heavier, and it's probably a dupondius, whereas the OP coin is most likely an as. Its die-axis is 12:00, whereas on the OP coin, the die-axis is 6:00. And I suppose that's reason enough to get the OP coin. But that's not what makes the OP coin special. Look carefully at the reverses of the two coins, side by side ...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]880630[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, they are mirror-images of each other. The OP coin has Fecunditas standing RIGHT.</p><p><br /></p><p>The RIC listing makes mention of sestertii bearing the right-facing Fecunditas on the reverse, but not middle bronzes ...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]880632[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Cohen also lists sestertii with this reverse, but not middle bronzes. Sear, similarly, notes no middle bronzes with this reverse type.</p><p><br /></p><p>But the BMCRE4 listing does -- as a footnote:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]880633[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]880634[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The footnote reads, "Variant of <i>rev</i>., Fecunditas standing r., Vatican Coll."</p><p><br /></p><p>Strack,* discussing the sestertii of this issue, similarly notes, "Fecunditas standing R sestertius in Paris; middle bronzes in Vatican, Munich, Stuttgart, Bologna, Gotha + Basel."</p><p><br /></p><p>So, the OP coin is known to exist, but since I purchased it sometime before 2004 (when my computer crashed and I lost all my provenance data that wasn't hand-written on the flips), I haven't seen another come up for sale or elsewhere online. I have been unable to find this variety at acsearchinfo, at the OCRE, Wildwinds, The Coin Project, or the CNG Archives. If you know of another example online, please post the image and the link; I'd love to see if mine is a die match to it.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, that's what makes the OP special!</p><p><br /></p><p>*Paul L. Strack, <i>Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts. Teil iii. Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius</i>. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1937.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3322319, member: 75937"]That is indeed Faustina as Fecunditas standing between two children and holding two others. And that's a pretty good reason to buy such a coin, but it's not what makes that particular coin special. You see, I have this one, too ... [ATTACH=full]880627[/ATTACH] Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman oricalchum dupondius, 12.45 gm, 27.1 mm, 12 h. Rome, AD 157-161. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: FECVND AVGVSTAE S C, (Faustina as) Fecunditas standing left, between two children (thought to represent Faustina III and Lucilla), holding two infants in her arms (thought to represent Commodus and Antoninus). Refs: RIC 1636; BMCRE 977-979; Cohen 97; RCV 5294. Notes: Ex-Henry Chapman, 1921. It differs from the OP coin in a number of ways. It's considerably heavier, and it's probably a dupondius, whereas the OP coin is most likely an as. Its die-axis is 12:00, whereas on the OP coin, the die-axis is 6:00. And I suppose that's reason enough to get the OP coin. But that's not what makes the OP coin special. Look carefully at the reverses of the two coins, side by side ... [ATTACH=full]880630[/ATTACH] Yes, they are mirror-images of each other. The OP coin has Fecunditas standing RIGHT. The RIC listing makes mention of sestertii bearing the right-facing Fecunditas on the reverse, but not middle bronzes ... [ATTACH=full]880632[/ATTACH] Cohen also lists sestertii with this reverse, but not middle bronzes. Sear, similarly, notes no middle bronzes with this reverse type. But the BMCRE4 listing does -- as a footnote: [ATTACH=full]880633[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]880634[/ATTACH] The footnote reads, "Variant of [I]rev[/I]., Fecunditas standing r., Vatican Coll." Strack,* discussing the sestertii of this issue, similarly notes, "Fecunditas standing R sestertius in Paris; middle bronzes in Vatican, Munich, Stuttgart, Bologna, Gotha + Basel." So, the OP coin is known to exist, but since I purchased it sometime before 2004 (when my computer crashed and I lost all my provenance data that wasn't hand-written on the flips), I haven't seen another come up for sale or elsewhere online. I have been unable to find this variety at acsearchinfo, at the OCRE, Wildwinds, The Coin Project, or the CNG Archives. If you know of another example online, please post the image and the link; I'd love to see if mine is a die match to it. So, that's what makes the OP special! *Paul L. Strack, [I]Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts. Teil iii. Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius[/I]. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1937.[/QUOTE]
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
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
What makes this coin so special?
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...