Please support our sponsors Log In | Register [83795 Coins (44240 Unverified)]

Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     90010152 Type:     Roman Imperial Issuer:     Faustina II Jr. Date Ruled:     AD 147-175 Metal:     Silver Denomination:     Denarius Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     AD 147-161 Weight:     3.56 6 g Obverse Legend:     FAVSTINAE AVG_ PII AVG FIL Obverse Description:     Draped bust right with hair waved and coiled on back of head and encircled with a band of pearls Reverse Legend:     V_E_NVS Reverse Description:     Venus standing left, holding apple in right hand, and anchor in left with dolphin coiled around. Mint:     Rome Primary Reference:     RIC III 0517(c) (A. Pius) Reference2:     RSC II 266a Reference3:     BMC 1046 Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=138716 Grade:     Cohen 328 Notes:     Sale: Nomos 1, Lot: 152 Hill 735 The previous coin showed Trajan leaving Antioch with the army to continue his campaign against Parthia. Here we see the result: in 116 he deposed the Parthian king Osroes I and replaced him with the pro-Roman Parthamaspates in the scene shown on this coin. After Trajan’s death Parthamaspates was himself deposed by Osroes and fled to the Romans, who established him as their client-king of Osroene, where he lasted until 123. When Hadrian’s father died in 85/6 (Hadrian was then around 10), his cousin Trajan became his guardian. He was brought up in public service and, as the emperor’s only male blood relative was the de facto successor. As emperor he was a very conscientious administrator who insisted on traveling all over the empire to ensure it was all governed and organized properly. He also wanted to ensure that the empire was protected by either natural or man-made frontiers (Hadrian’s Wall in Britain is a perfect example), thus making his abandonment of Trajan’s last conquests an obvious decision. Hadrian was surely the most cultured of all the Roman emperors, being passionately interested in architecture, art, and literature. His coinage reflect those interests and bear portraits that are among the finest in the entire Roman series. The early ones, designed when he first came to the throne, are very realistic, showing a still thin and youngish man (even though he was then over 40). The late portraits of Hadrian have an increasingly noble character about them and appear to avoid any real depiction of aging. This is in contrast to the coinage of Marcus Aurelius, which conscientiously shows the emperor changing from a handsome youth into an elderly man, worn down with the cares of empire. It is possible that no other emperor insisted on having such an elegant series of portraits as did Hadrian, though this is not so surprising given his philhellene tendencies and the obvious interest he took in the way he was portrayed. Even the figure of Victory on this coin is unusually soignÉ: the eagle on her hand is an unexpected touch. From the collection of a Gentleman, ex Tradart, 12 December 1991, 323.Faustina II was the daughter of Antoninus Pius and was married to the young Marcus Aurelius in 145, when she was 17. She was a great beauty as the portrait on this lovely denarius makes clear. Despite malicious rumors to the contrary, their marriage was a very happy one, lasting for thirty years (they had 13 children, most dying young).

Created and Managed by Alfredo De La Fe