Faustina Friday – Cohen Reports Four Varieties of Faustina the Younger’s Denarius with Pudicitia Sacrificing

[Roman Collector]

Friday felicitations, fellow Faustina fanatics! I hope you have an enjoyable and coin-filled weekend. Today we'll examine a reverse type that was struck for Faustina the Younger in the denarius denomination only: the PVDICITIA type featuring Pudicitia standing left, sacrificing over a cylindrical altar. As such, it falls outside of the purview of Beckmann's die-linkage study of Faustina's aurei. Nonetheless, by studying the various obverse inscriptions, we are on solid ground when it comes to dating the issue.

In 1882, Cohen described four different obverse legends used with the type, which he numbers 181-184.[1] I reproduce his listing, below.

The four varieties of the denarius with the Pudicitia sacrificing reverse type as listed in Cohen's Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome II: de Nerva à Antonin (96 à 161 après J.-C.). Paris, 1882, p. 151. His reverse description is translated as "Pudicitia, veiled, standing left, sacrificing over a prepared and lighted altar."

Let's examine each of these in detail, starting with no. 181.

Cohen 181, FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG F

This is the only one of these varieties cited as belonging to the French national collection (indicated by "F"). Cohen cites the private collections of Wiczay, Rollin, and Hamburger, respectively, for the other three varieties. I illustrate the specimen in the French national collection, below.

Denarius (3.38 g, 19 mm) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cohen 181. Photo by Roxane Gauthier-Dussart.[2]

Note that part of the obverse inscription at the top part of the coin is partially off the flan. Cohen erred in reconstructing the legend. Cohen reports that it reads FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG F, whereas the usual inscription for Faustina's coins issued from June 152 through December 155 CE spell out the empress's filiation in full: FIL, not F. Moreover, a careful reconstruction of the specimen's obverse legend reveals it reads FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F, to which Cohen assigns catalog number 184, citing M. Hamburger.

So, Cohen 181 does not exist exactly as described because the specimen cited is identical in type to Cohen 184. But there is a similar type, not listed by Cohen (unless he misdescribes no. 183), which bears the inscription FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL. Strack cites specimens of this type in Munich, Basel, and Sofia.[3] I illustrate the type with a specimen sold at auction, below.

Denarius of the Pudicitia sacrificing type featuring the obverse inscription FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL. Martí Hervera & Soler y Llach, Subasta 68, lot 2622, 25 October 2011.

Unfortunately, Mattingly and Sydenham cite Cohen uncritically and assign coins with the FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG F legend as 508c and do not note the existence of coins with the full FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL legend.[4] Mattingly, writing alone in BMCRE4, corrects this in a footnote.[5] Seaby makes the correction parenthetically in his description of the type as well.[6] Because of all these cross-references, we're stuck calling this coin RIC 508c (corrected) or Cohen 181 (corrected), even though these catalog numbers are derived from Cohen inaccurately transcribing the obverse legend on the exemplar in the French national collection.

Cohen 182, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA

Cohen cites the catalog of the Wiczay collection for this variety. Because it has the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA obverse legend, Mattingly and Sydenham erroneously took it to have been issued under Marcus Aurelius, not Antoninus Pius, and assign it RIC 708 under Marcus.[7] They cite Cohen 182. The British Museum ultimately obtained a specimen for their collection in 1955. I illustrate it, below.

Denarius of the Pudicitia sacrificing type featuring the obverse inscription FAVSTINA AVGVSTA. British Museum collection, 1955,1205.1; BMCRE 135A.

Cohen 183, FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL

Although Cohen cites the collection of M. Rollin for a coin with the dative obverse inscription, FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, there is ample reason to believe that either Cohen or Rollin were in error when transcribing the obverse inscription, or that the exemplar is an unofficial mule. The dative inscription fell into disuse in about May 151 CE, whereas the Beckmann Type 5 hairstyle used on coins of this reverse type was introduced later, sometime in autumn of 154 CE.[8] As discussed below, the Pudicitia sacrificing reverse type dates to no earlier than late 155 CE and there is simply no way to account for a coin with this combination of obverse legend and reverse type to be an official product of the Rome mint. Mattingly and Sydenham uncritically cite Cohen for the type and assign it no. 508b.[9] I have been unable to confirm the existence of this coin.

I am not the first to notice this. Strack notes, in appendix 4 of his catalog,[10] "Auch bei 183 ist FAVSTINAE nur für FAVSTINA verlesen, denn der Rs. Typus 'Pudicitia-Pietas neben Altar' ist auf die späte Frisur (T.d) beschränkt, vgl. Nr. 510 und 513, und wird deshalb kaum regulär mit der frühesten Legende von 147-149 ausgebracht worden sein; fall vorhanden, müßte dieser Denar als hybride Prägung betrachtet werden."[11] I translate this as "[Note] also 183, but FAVSTINAE is misread for FAVSTINA, because the reverse type 'Pudicitia-Pietas next to Altar' is limited to the late hairstyle (Type d), cf. Nos. 510 and 513, and is therefore hardly consistent with those issued with the earliest legend of 147-149; If it exists, this denarius would have to be viewed as a hybrid coinage."

Cohen 184, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA PII AVG F

Cohen cites the collection of M. Hamburger for this variety, though we have seen that the specimen in the Bibliothèque nationale de France is an example of the type. This is far and away the most frequently encountered of Cohen's four varieties and is the type represented in my own collection.

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman AR denarius; 3.64 g, 17.1 mm, 5 h.
Rome, January - August 156 CE.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F, bare-headed and draped bust, right (Beckmann Type 5 hairstyle).
Rev: PVDICITIA, Pudicitia standing left, sacrificing over lit altar to left.
Refs: RIC 508a; BMCRE 1092-93; Cohen 184; RCV 4707; Strack 513; CRE 207.

The type is also known with a left-facing bust.

Denarius of the Pudicitia sacrificing type featuring the obverse inscription FAVSTINA AVGVSTA PII AVG F and a left-facing bust. British Museum collection, 1924,1002.11; BMCRE 1094.

Dating the Pudicitia sacrificing reverse type

This reverse type appears to have been issued from late 155 CE through late summer 156 CE. The obverse legends with which it was paired form a consecutive series summarized below.
 

• FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL (about June 152 through December 155 CE)
• FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F (January 156-August 156 CE)
• FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, paired with reverse inscription AVGVSTI PII FIL (August 156 to late 157 CE)

The coins bearing the earliest inscription, FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, are quite scarce, indicating a short period of production, perhaps beginning in December 155 and possibly continuing into January 156 CE. The coins bearing the second inscription, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F are quite common, indicating a long period of production, likely throughout the first several months of 156 CE. The filiation AVGVSTI PII FIL, which means "daughter of Pius Augustus," was moved to the reverse of her coins about August 156, two-thirds of the way through Antoninus' TR P XIX,[12] with the result that her obverse legend was shortened to FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, the legend in use for the rest of her life. The few specimens (two?) of this reverse type are thus likely to represent muling of the Pudicitia sacrificing reverse type with the newly designed FAVSTINA AVGVSTA obverse that was intended for use with the AVGVSTI PII FIL reverses. I have previously written about a similar muling situation with the medium bronzes of the anepigraphic Diana standing type. This provides a reasonable date of c. August 156 for the end of production of the Pudicitia sacrificing reverse type.

Conclusions

The year 156 CE marked a period of rapid change in the expression of Faustina the Younger's titulature on her coinage, with three different obverse legends used in less than a year for coins of the Pudicitia sacrificing type. The circumstances which led to the adoption of so many obverse legends in a short period of time are unclear, however.

Moreover, this coin type illustrates the pitfalls of trusting older references, no matter how venerable. We have seen how Cohen's error in transcribing the obverse inscription of a denarius in the French national collection was propagated into RIC and RSC when these references cited Cohen uncritically. Ultimately, the coins have the final say and we should examine the coins with our own eyes when performing numismatic studies.

Do you have any examples of this Pudicitia sacrificing type? Let's see them! Please post comments, coins, and anything you feel is relevant.

~~~

Notes

1. Cohen, Henry. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Tome II: de Nerva à Antonin (96 à 161 après J.-C.). Paris, 1882, p. 151.

2. Gauthier-Dussart, Roxane, et al. "Entre Rome et Alexandrie: Le Monnayage d'antonin Le Pieux (138-161), Idéologie Du Règne et Adaptations Locales." l'Université de Montréal, 2017, p. 527 and pl. 110, no. 1852.

3. Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur Römischen Reichsprägung des Zweiten Jahrhunderts, vol. 3, Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Stuttgart 1937, no. 510, p. 350.

4. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham (RIC). The Roman Imperial Coinage. III, Spink, 1930, p. 94.

5. Mattingly, Harold, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Introduction, indexes and plates. London, BMP, 1968, p. 165n.

6. Seaby, H. A. Roman Silver Coins, vol II: Tiberius - Commodus. London, B. A. Seaby, LTD, 1968, no. 181, p. 192.

7. Mattingly and Sydenham, op. cit., p. 270.

8. Curtis L. Clay, personal communication, 13 September 2021.

9. Mattingly and Sydenham, op. cit., p. 94.

10. Appendix 4 is where Strack discusses debatable, misdescribed, or generally doubtful coins.

11. Strack, op. cit., Anh. IV, 155b.

12. Clay, Curtis L., post #5, "Faustina Friday -- a Pondersome Dupondius." Coin Talk, https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634

Edited January 26 by Roman Collector
I have OCD

[Ryro]

Excellent coins and write up, as always, my man. 

I would have more of this coin type to share if I had more money. Cause if I had more money I'd have lots more coins!

My only Pudi is sitting politely, nor is she a Faustina:

Otacilia Severa

AR antoninanus, 244-249 CE Mint: Rome, 244-245 CE, 22mm x 25mm, 4.12g Obv: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG
Diademed and draped bust right, with a crescent behind her shoulders.
Rev: PVDICITIA AVG
Pudicitia seated left, right hand drawing veil from face and holding a transverse sceptre in her left arm.
Ref: RCV (2005) 9159; RIC IV ..

Edited January 26 by Ryro

[Marsyas Mike]

Great FF as always @Roman Collector.  Here's mine:

Faustina II  Denarius (January-August 156 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AV[G P]II F, bare-headed and draped bust right / PVDICITIA, Pudicitia standing left, sacrificing over lit altar to left. RIC III Antoninus Pius 508a; BMCRE 1092; Cohen 184.  (3.20 grams / 18 x 16 mm) eBay Apr. 2022  

Notes:  "In January AD 156, the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F legend was introduced...The filiation AVGVSTI PII FIL...was moved to the reverse of her coins about August 156, two-thirds of the way through Antoninus' TR P XIX... indicating that the type was issued as late as August of that year...I therefore date these coins to January-August AD 156. Roman Collector, NF Oct. 2022

[Roman Collector]

20 hours ago, Ryro said:

Excellent coins and write up, as always, my man. 

I would have more of this coin type to share if I had more money. Cause if I had more money I'd have lots more coins!

My only Pudi is sitting politely, nor is she a Faustina:

Otacilia Severa

AR antoninanus, 244-249 CE Mint: Rome, 244-245 CE, 22mm x 25mm, 4.12g Obv: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG
Diademed and draped bust right, with a crescent behind her shoulders.
Rev: PVDICITIA AVG
Pudicitia seated left, right hand drawing veil from face and holding a transverse sceptre in her left arm.
Ref: RCV (2005) 9159; RIC IV ..

Thank you for the kind words! Lovely portrait on that Otacilia! 

14 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Great FF as always @Roman Collector.  Here's mine:

Faustina II  Denarius (January-August 156 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AV[G P]II F, bare-headed and draped bust right / PVDICITIA, Pudicitia standing left, sacrificing over lit altar to left. RIC III Antoninus Pius 508a; BMCRE 1092; Cohen 184.  (3.20 grams / 18 x 16 mm) eBay Apr. 2022  

Notes:  "In January AD 156, the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F legend was introduced...The filiation AVGVSTI PII FIL...was moved to the reverse of her coins about August 156, two-thirds of the way through Antoninus' TR P XIX... indicating that the type was issued as late as August of that year...I therefore date these coins to January-August AD 156. Roman Collector, NF Oct. 2022

Nice example! Glad you found the post of interest!