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Long Beach Signature Sale 3042 17-18 Sep 2015
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Diva Faustina Sr., deified wife of Antoninus Pius (died AD 141). AV aureus (20mm, 6.83 gm, 6h). Rome, after AD 141. DIVA · AVGVS-TA · FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust of Faustina right, hair coiled atop head / AET-ER-NITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe in extended right hand and scepter in left. RIC (Antoninus) 350b(b). BMCRE 50 note. Cohen 36. Calicó 1752 (S5). Very scarce variety! A lovely coin with pristine surfaces and a hint of warm, reddish toning around devices. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style.Annia Galeria Faustina was born into an aristocratic Roman senatorial family of Spanish descent. Her father and one brother achieved the rank of Consul; her other brother, Marcus Annius Verus, became Praetor and was father to the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her maternal uncle was the Emperor Hadrian. In about AD 115, she married Titus Fulvius Antoninus, a respected Senator, and through her connections he became a close advisor to Hadrian. When Hadrian's intended successor, Aelius Caesar, died early in AD 138, the ailing emperor settled on the 52-year-old Antoninus as his replacement. Antoninus succeeded to the throne later that year and Faustina was acclaimed as Augusta, or Empress. Antoninus honored her extensively on the coinage and her vivacity, fashion sense and compassion for the poor made her very popular. Her distinctive hairstyle, with a tight coil adopt her head, became popular among women throughout the Empire. While the staid Roman historians of later eras criticized her lack of "gravitas," Antoninus was devoted to her. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters; both male children died in infancy, but the daughters lived to adulthood and one, Faustina the Younger, married Marcus Aurelius and became Augusta herself. Only two years into Antoninus' reign, Faustina died of an unknown illness. The grief-stricken Antoninus secured her deification and issued an immense coinage in her name, the largest for any Roman woman to that point. This magnificent aureus falls into the posthumous series.
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD
Diva Faustina Sr., deified wife of Antoninus Pius (died AD 141). AV aureus (20mm, 6.83 gm, 6h). Rome, after AD 141. DIVA · AVGVS-TA · FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust of Faustina right, hair coiled atop head / AET-ER-NITAS, Providentia standing left, holding globe in extended right hand and scepter in left. RIC (Antoninus) 350b(b). BMCRE 50 note. Cohen 36. Calicó 1752 (S5). Very scarce variety! A lovely coin with pristine surfaces and a hint of warm, reddish toning around devices. NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style.Annia Galeria Faustina was born into an aristocratic Roman senatorial family of Spanish descent. Her father and one brother achieved the rank of Consul; her other brother, Marcus Annius Verus, became Praetor and was father to the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her maternal uncle was the Emperor Hadrian. In about AD 115, she married Titus Fulvius Antoninus, a respected Senator, and through her connections he became a close advisor to Hadrian. When Hadrian's intended successor, Aelius Caesar, died early in AD 138, the ailing emperor settled on the 52-year-old Antoninus as his replacement. Antoninus succeeded to the throne later that year and Faustina was acclaimed as Augusta, or Empress. Antoninus honored her extensively on the coinage and her vivacity, fashion sense and compassion for the poor made her very popular. Her distinctive hairstyle, with a tight coil adopt her head, became popular among women throughout the Empire. While the staid Roman historians of later eras criticized her lack of "gravitas," Antoninus was devoted to her. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters; both male children died in infancy, but the daughters lived to adulthood and one, Faustina the Younger, married Marcus Aurelius and became Augusta herself. Only two years into Antoninus' reign, Faustina died of an unknown illness. The grief-stricken Antoninus secured her deification and issued an immense coinage in her name, the largest for any Roman woman to that point. This magnificent aureus falls into the posthumous series.
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD