Faustina Friday – a Sestertius of the AETERNITAS and Temple issue of 150 CE: a Die Pair Not Listed in Beckmann

[Roman Collector]

Friday felicitations, fellow Faustina fanatics! I hope this weekend finds you with plenty of time to spend with your collections. Today we'll take an in-depth look at some sestertii of the AETERNITAS and temple type of 150 CE, which were issued to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Faustina's deification.[1] I have previously written in detail about the various features of the temple on this issue that reflect changes made to the temple between 143 CE, when it was dedicated, and the tenth death anniversary celebrations of 150 CE. Today I'd like to explore a specimen I recently added to my collection which features a veiled bust of the empress on its obverse and a reverse design characterized by the façade of the Temple of Diva Faustina surrounded by the AETERNITAS inscription on the reverse.

Faustina II, 138-140 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 26.12 g, 33.1 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 150 CE.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS around facade of hexastyle temple; within, figure seated front, raising right hand and holding vertical scepter in left; in pediment, uncertain figures; above, a quadriga, and Victories as acroteria; in front, lattice fence; to left and right, statues on pedestals. S-C in exergue.
Refs: RIC 1115(b); BMCRE 1508 n; Cohen 67; Strack 1259; RCV –.

This particular reverse die is not illustrated in Beckmann's die study of the sestertii of Diva Faustina the Elder and he does not catalog the obverse dies bearing the DIVA FAVSTINA legend. He notes that the specimens used for his die study are illustrated at the ANS website,[2] but the web page appears to have been taken down. I have therefore performed my own die study of the issues featuring the veiled bust type and have identified two additional examples of this reverse die. The first is the specimen in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the second is the specimen from the Friedrich collection.

Specimen in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cohen 67.

Specimen from the Friedrich collection, Numismatica Ars Classica, 2-IV-1995, lot 1423.

You'll note that in addition to being struck with the same reverse die, all three of these specimens were struck with the same obverse die. After an extensive examination of the temple reverse type, as well as other reverse types known to have been struck with veiled bust types, I have not been able to identify other sestertii struck with this obverse die. Moreover, Beckmann does not include it in sestertius group 26, which includes five reverse dies of the temple type paired with three obverse dies.[3] I am posting this die series because it is not otherwise noted in the literature nor illustrated online elsewhere.

I have another specimen of this reverse type, but the reverse legend, AETERNITAS, is in the exergue, not arranged around the circumference of the coin. It's not exactly FDC, I know, but the type is scarce, and the specialist must take what's available.

Faustina II, 138-140 CE.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.72 g, 34.5 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 150 CE.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.
Rev: Facade of hexastyle temple; within, figure seated front, raising right hand and holding vertical scepter in left; in pediment, uncertain figures; above, a quadriga, and Victories as acroteria; in front, lattice fence; to left and right, statues on pedestals. In exergue, AETERNITAS; S-C in fields, left and right.
Refs: RIC 1115(b); BMCRE 1508; Cohen 71; Strack 1260; RCV –.
Notes: Beckmann obverse die df25, reverse die T3. Double die match to BMCRE 1508.

Beckmann notes this obverse die was used in combination with five reverse dies, including three which have AETERNITAS arranged circumferentially around the temple. One of the highest-grade specimens was sold by Künker in 2016, which was struck with Beckmann reverse die T10, illustrated below.

Beckmann obverse die df25, reverse die T10. Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., auction 274, lot 769, 14 March 2016.

Reverse die T10 was also used with an obverse die depicting the empress with a bare-headed bust, Beckmann obverse die f102, such as this specimen sold by Numismatica Ars Classica in 3003.

Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction N, lot 2026, 26 June 2003.

Beckmann similarly notes that reverse die T3, such as on my coin, above with AETERNITAS in the exergue, was paired with a bare-headed obverse die, df264. Beckmann illustrates these die-linkages in sestertius group 26.

[]

Sestertius group 26 illustrates die-linkages between the veiled and bare-headed bust varieties and between the varieties in the placement of the AETERNITAS legend on the reverse.

Therefore, in addition to obverse die-linkages between the types with the AETERNITAS legend in the exergue and those with the legend arranged circumferentially, there are die-linkages between each of the two reverse legend varieties and the veiled and bare-headed bust varieties. This observation raises three points:

• The type with AETERNITAS in the exergue and the type with AETERNITAS arranged circumferentially around the temple were in production simultaneously.
   
• The bare-headed and the veiled bust types are similarly of no chronological significance.
   
• The variations of obverses and reverses in a single issue (as established by the die-links) demonstrates the freedom that was granted to die-engravers in the interpretation of designs. The simplest and most likely explanation is that the engravers each preferred a different style of representation – and that if there were official instructions on how the coin designs were to be executed, they weren’t very detailed.

Thus, whether bare-headed or veiled, and whether the AETERNITAS legend is arranged around the temple or beneath it in the exergue, the Rome mint seems to have considered it the same issue.

Do you have any of Faustina's 10^th death anniversary temple coins? Let's see them! As always, please post comments, coins, or anything you feel is relevant!

~~~

Notes

1. Beckmann, Martin. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. American Numismatic Society, 2012, pp. 65 ff.

2. Ibid, p. 153.

3. Two of the obverse dies feature a bare-headed bust and one features a veiled bust. See Beckmann, op. cit., Die Chart 18.

[Prieure de Sion]

On 1/5/2024 at 11:47 AM, Roman Collector said:

AETERNITAS

Perfect timing - @Roman Collector you are the Faustina Expert - can i have 5min from you for a coin identification please. i search the half day for this coin - but i am blind - i find nothing similar. When i search for Faustina + Aeternitas + AE As i find many hits - example OCRE Online - but allways Aeternitas with a Scepter in the hand! Not like this presentation on my coin.

 

[Marcus]

If I may intrude: isn't this RIC 1106?

[Roman Collector]

35 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Perfect timing - @Roman Collector you are the Faustina Expert - can i have 5min from you for a coin identification please. i search the half day for this coin - but i am blind - i find nothing similar. When i search for Faustina + Aeternitas + AE As i find many hits - example OCRE Online - but allways Aeternitas with a Scepter in the hand! Not like this presentation on my coin.

 

That is this one:

Faustina I, 138-140 CE.
Roman copper alloy as or dupondius, 13.38 g, 27.2 mm, 5 h.
Rome, 150 CE and later.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AETERNITAS, Aeternitas standing left, holding globe and raising above head a starry mantle.
Refs: RIC 1158; BMCRE 1548; Cohen 31; Strack 1262; RCV 4643.
Notes: Obverse die match to the British Museum specimen, a dupondius.

[Roman Collector]

23 minutes ago, Marcus said:

If I may intrude: isn't this RIC 1106?

No, 1106 is the sestertius. He was asking about the as, which is 1158.

[Marcus]

Oh, sorry - I need another cup of coffee ...

[Prieure de Sion]

2 minutes ago, Marcus said:

Oh, sorry - I need another cup of coffee ...

Dont worry... that happens, I often can't see the trees for the forest - and then it's always better if someone uninvolved looks, they usually find the right hit.

 

14 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Refs: RIC 1158; BMCRE 1548; Cohen 31; Strack 1262; RCV 4643.

Thanks so much! 

I set the OCRE Online Filter only to "As" nominal. The Dupondius example have a picture, the As not. So i dont see any picture of this Aeternitas Reverse. 

[Roman Collector]

11 minutes ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Dont worry... that happens, I often can't see the trees for the forest - and then it's always better if someone uninvolved looks, they usually find the right hit.

 

Thanks so much! 

I set the OCRE Online Filter only to "As" nominal. The Dupondius example have a picture, the As not. So i dont see any picture of this Aeternitas Reverse. 

RIC -- like Cohen -- does not provide separate catalog numbers for the as and dupondius denominations for the Antonine empresses because on patinated coins it is impossible to tell the difference. They are all listed as "Dp or As." The (a) or (b) in the listing does NOT refer to denomination, but to bust type, (a) for bare-headed and (b) for veiled.

Edited January 7 by Roman Collector
Clarity

[Zarco]

Great post, @Roman Collector. I learned something new about my coin today.  I featured this one recently in my 2023 top 10 list.  Photo credit: Roma Numismatics.

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
AE Sestertius, 22.6 g, 33.4 mm, 6 h.
Struck under Antoninus Pius.
Rome mint, AD 150.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA; Bust of Faustina I, veiled, right.
Rev: AETERNIT[AS] S C; Hexastyle temple, in which is seated figure of Faustina I.
Refs: RIC III 1115b.
Acquired from Roma Numismatics, E-Sale 105, Lot 870, 19 January 2023.
From a private UK collection.

[Roman Collector]

1 hour ago, Zarco said:

Great post, @Roman Collector. I learned something new about my coin today.  I featured this one recently in my 2023 top 10 list.  Photo credit: Roma Numismatics.

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
AE Sestertius, 22.6 g, 33.4 mm, 6 h.
Struck under Antoninus Pius.
Rome mint, AD 150.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA; Bust of Faustina I, veiled, right.
Rev: AETERNIT[AS] S C; Hexastyle temple, in which is seated figure of Faustina I.
Refs: RIC III 1115b.
Acquired from Roma Numismatics, E-Sale 105, Lot 870, 19 January 2023.
From a private UK collection.

It's a double die-match to mine!