Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Faustina II (daughter of A. Pius) AV Aureus. Rome, AD 145-161. FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust to right / CONCORDIA, Concordia standing facing, head to right, holding cornucopiae and raising skirt. RIC III 500a (Pius); C. -; BMCRE 1041 (Pius) (same obv. die); Biaggi 918 var. (Concordia head to left); Calicó 2041a; iNumis 9, 159. 7.22g, 19mm, 6h.
Mint State; a majestic portrait struck in high relief. Exceedingly Rare with this obv. legend; seemingly only the second example to come to auction in the past two decades.
From the Altstetten Collection, kept in the vault of Crédit Suisse Geneva (documentation available upon request) since 26 November 1969.
Little has survived in historical sources concerning the life of Annia Galeria Faustina Minor, and what does survive is often less than kind. She accompanied Aurelius on various military campaigns, which perhaps gave rise to the scurrilous rumours and negative views that Roman sources generally give of her character. The Historia Augusta alleges that she consorted with soldiers, gladiators and men of rank, and that she was perhaps behind the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband in 175. However, it is clear that Faustina and Aurelius were devoted to each other; she was held in high esteem by the army and by her husband, who grieved deeply for her when she passed, and accorded her divine honours.
Faustina is here presented with utmost femininity; the proportions of her facial features are delicate, the folds of her drapery are intricately rendered, and the exquisite detail of her coiffure reflects the glamour of the young future empress.
Mint State; a majestic portrait struck in high relief. Exceedingly Rare with this obv. legend; seemingly only the second example to come to auction in the past two decades.
From the Altstetten Collection, kept in the vault of Crédit Suisse Geneva (documentation available upon request) since 26 November 1969.
Little has survived in historical sources concerning the life of Annia Galeria Faustina Minor, and what does survive is often less than kind. She accompanied Aurelius on various military campaigns, which perhaps gave rise to the scurrilous rumours and negative views that Roman sources generally give of her character. The Historia Augusta alleges that she consorted with soldiers, gladiators and men of rank, and that she was perhaps behind the revolt of Avidius Cassius against her husband in 175. However, it is clear that Faustina and Aurelius were devoted to each other; she was held in high esteem by the army and by her husband, who grieved deeply for her when she passed, and accorded her divine honours.
Faustina is here presented with utmost femininity; the proportions of her facial features are delicate, the folds of her drapery are intricately rendered, and the exquisite detail of her coiffure reflects the glamour of the young future empress.