Annius Verus or Summer Personified?

[Sulla80]

Late Roman, AD 330 - 335, marble sarcophagus depicting the four seasons at Dumbarton Oaks.

 I was pleased to add an unusual quadrans to my collection - it is not a type that one stumbles on every day.  Prof. Johan van Heesch University of Leuven & Louvain-la-Neuve who was head of the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) until he retired in 2021, and a specialist in Roman Roman numismatics and the monetary history of Rome, wrote in his 1979 MA-thesis on the semis and quadrans wrote about these coins:

"The depiction of the four seasons on these anonymous coins is quite remarkable. Firstly, because the youths representing the seasons are generally shown in full, and images with only busts of these figures are extremely rare, unknown on coins and mesaillions other than the series discussed here. Secondly, because this is the first time the four seasons have been depicted on coins. Until now, it was believed that this depiction only appeared on coins under Commodus, but this anonymous series was minted under Antoninus Pius. On medallions, we already find the four seasons under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius.

On coins and medallions, apart from this series, they are always represented as a group of four full-figure youths with attributes that are often difficult to identify due to the small size of the depictions. Almost always, these images are accompanied by the inscription "temporum felicitas"; the four seasons symbolize a golden age."

-John von Heesch, 1979 MA Thesis

Anonymous issues. temp. Hadrian–Antoninus Pius, AD 117-161. Æ Quadrans (17mm, 2.57g). Rome mint.

Obv: Draped bust of the personification of Summer as a youthful child, right, wearing a wreath and necklace of ripened grain

Rev: S • C within wreath or ripe grain

Ref: RIC II p. 219, 34 & 35; Van Heesch 2, pl. XXV, 8.

The four coins

• Winter, dressed warmer than the others, wears a cloth on his head with a reed crown;
• Spring has a garland of flowers;
• Summer has ears of grain
• Autumn has grapevines and leaves

This interpretation is supported by hundreds of reliefs, frescoes, and mosaics brought together by Hanfmann in his extensive study on representations of the four seasons and the sarcophagus shown as the opening image of this post from the Dumbarton Oaks Museum.

Cohen identifies the portrait on one of this series, with some doubt, as that of the son of Marcus Aurelius, Annius Verus.  Dušanić, thought it could represent a river god.  Both seem unlikely with the context of additional coins unknown to these authors.

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/annius-verus-or-summer-personified

Share your quadrantes, coins of he Antonines, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.

Edited October 28, 2024 by Sulla80

[Orange Julius]

Love that coin! Having all four would be such a cool sub collection. Something else to add to the targets list… although I’m sure they’re rare.

[Ryro]

Cherry example of a rare type! Even if it isn't Annius it's a very cool personification. 

Here he/ is the personification of winter with a river/tiber patina:

Anonymous AE Quadrans (18 mm, 2.70 g). Time of Domitian to Antoninus Pius. Rome, AD 81-161. Obv. Youthful veiled head of Annius Verus (?) as the personification of Winter to right, wearing wreath of reeds. Rev. S•C within olive wreath fastened with jewel at apex. Van Heesch pl. 25, 3; RIC 35. Very rare. River patina. Fine. Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021 

[CPK]

Nice!

[Sulla80]

8 hours ago, Ryro said:

Cherry example of a rare type! Even if it isn't Annius it's a very cool personification. 

Here he/ is the personification of winter with a river/tiber patina:

Anonymous AE Quadrans (18 mm, 2.70 g). Time of Domitian to Antoninus Pius. Rome, AD 81-161. Obv. Youthful veiled head of Annius Verus (?) as the personification of Winter to right, wearing wreath of reeds. Rev. S•C within olive wreath fastened with jewel at apex. Van Heesch pl. 25, 3; RIC 35. Very rare. River patina. Fine. Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021 

Fabulous, @Ryro, I wondered if any others from this series might show up!  "winter" with warm headgear!

[Roman Collector]

That's a really nice specimen of that quadrans, @Sulla80! That would be a fun little set to collect. I think it's a stretch, though, to label these personifications as "so-and-so as such-and-such personification." This, for example, is not Caesonia as Salus; it's just Salus.

And this is probably not Livia or Livilla as Pietas (if anyone, I believe Vipsania to be the most likely). The fact that nobody can agree who it is indicates it's probably just Pietas.