51 Gallery
June 2017 Auction 9 Jun 2017
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
EMPIRE, GOLD AUREUS OF MATIDIA, Rome, ca. AD 112, 7.260g, 6h. Calicó 1157. Very rare. Lightly toned with underlying luster. Perfectly centered and struck. Undoubtedly one of the finest known. Superb extremely fine. Gorny & Mosch 2012 (207) lot 630
Matidia was the first lady of the imperial house to be honoured with the title 'Augusta', without having been either the wife, mother or daughter of the emperor. Her maternal uncle was the Roman emperor Trajan, who had no children and treated her like his daughter. The reverse depicts Matidia in the guise of the goddess Pietas, affectionately placing her hands on the heads of two young children, both female, who doubtless represent her own two daughters Matidia the Younger and Sabina.
Matidia was the first lady of the imperial house to be honoured with the title 'Augusta', without having been either the wife, mother or daughter of the emperor. Her maternal uncle was the Roman emperor Trajan, who had no children and treated her like his daughter. The reverse depicts Matidia in the guise of the goddess Pietas, affectionately placing her hands on the heads of two young children, both female, who doubtless represent her own two daughters Matidia the Younger and Sabina.