We don't like to miss the Ides of March, so what better time to resume our blog than today?
[Editor's Note: for about 9 years, we continued the Coin of the Month blog theme, but it came to be too cumbersome for three reasons. First, there was no flexibility in the format, and what was supposed to be fun and educational became nothing but a chore. Second, I refused to post anything that was currently up for sale because it was supposed to be strictly educational. This made it impossible to feature selected coins on a monthly basis because they were often still available. And then, when the blogs went up for sale, people wanted to know how to buy the coins! Our blogs are not advertisements. Finally, becoming editor of The MCA Advisory [the magazine of Medal Collectors of America] in 2023 took away much of the free time I had previously devoted to these concerns. Ultimately, I stopped posting.
Therefore, the new format will be to post whenever I have something interesting to share, regardless of interval or availability.]
Faustina Jr. was the daughter of Emperor Antoninus Pius and Faustina Senior. She and her husband, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, reigned from 161AD to 175 or 176 AD. She was given the honorary title of "Mother of the Camp" because she was beloved by the soldiers. That makes this ancient Roman medallion of Faustina Jr. all the more intriguing.
We usually think of the origins of modern medal-making having its roots in the Renaissance. However, it was actually the Romans who proliferated the art of ephemeral metallic propaganda, before it disappeared in the Dark Ages and Medieval period for 1000 years. Medals had no practical purpose or use, other than to commemorate an achievement, and surviving Roman medallions are exceptionally rare. Very thick and housed in a double-thick slab, and weighing over 55 grams, despite a roughly 38mm diameter. This much copper would be repurposed later, if it was not lost.
Hard surfaces despite considerable erosion, but a nice original river patina is quite desirable. Virtually all ancient Roman coinage is dug or otherwise recovered from the earth, and it is common for Roman issues to be found in water. A shiny, gunmetal blue and verdigris skin is typical of such objects. While some of these may have been lost during travels, often, shrines that required an offering were set up in rivers, and these objects were literally thrown into the water. This piece would be choice if not for some literally "ancient" scraping on the lower reverse. That said, anything materially better would be at least a thousand dollars more, and this is a handsome entry level piece. And where are you going to find another one? Definitely not here, this is not an advertisement! Get out your snorkel.
Editor's Note: It is popular to refer to Ancient Roman medals as "medallions." However, the technical definition of a medallion is a round disk of 100mm or more in diameter. Lesser pieces are (supposed to be) called medals, and under 20mm, medallets.
DM Rare Coins Blog
