Newest pickup - Julia Domna! (Denarius)
MKUltra24
Posts: 652 ✭✭✭✭
Yesterday HA had an amazing collection up for auction called the “Ed’s Treasures” collection (love that name xD).
They had so many amazing coins from Republican denarii to gold aureii and almost every Emperor’s denarius in decent condition.
Originally my eye was on a really eye appealing Ch AU Titus denarius but the price went through the roof and well above similarly graded CH AU Titus denarii due to the exceptional eye appeal.
Anyway as a consolation prize I managed to win this denarius of Julia Domna (minted under Caracalla).
Oddly enough my collection started out as an “Emperor’s denarii” collection but I’ve been going a bit off track and have recently picked up many non-Emperors such as Lucilla (sister of Commodus) Faustina Yr (mother of Commodus & Lucilla and wife of Marcus Aurelius) and now Julia Domna (wife of Emperor Septimius Severus and mother of future Emperors Caracalla and Geta).
I guess I’ll have to think up a new theme for my collection.
She looks pretty pissed off! O_o
Julia Domna (AD 193-217). AR denarius (19mm, 3.07 gm, 6h). NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 211-217. IVLIA PIA-FELIX AVG, draped bust of Julia Domna right, seen from front, wearing helmet-like wig of plaits with large chignon at back of head, a single lock of her own hair across cheek / VE-S-TA, Vesta standing facing, veiled head left, palladium in right hand, scepter in left. RIC IV.I (Caracalla) 390. Lustrous toned flan.
From the Ed's Treasures Collection
Comments
I watched that auction last night as I do most ancient and world HA coin auctions. Some amazing coins and intense bidding. Congrats!! I don't collect ancients but appreciate them more and more. I would but can't afford to be all over the place.
Collecting interests: Coins from Latin American (2020-present)
Sports: NFL & NHL
That was definitely one of the most exciting and extensive ancients auction I’ve seen on HA in the roughly 9 months I’ve used it.
Sadly I don’t have the pockets for a lot of the really amazing coins that were up. I really liked the Antony & Octavian denarius and the Augustus cistophorus. Oh and the AU* 5/5 Tiberius denarius.
Maybe you’ll come back to ancients one day
. Ya never know!
Never collected them just enjoy their history and designs. If I had deep pockets I would branch out but that will not happen so I just enjoy watching the auctions.
Collecting interests: Coins from Latin American (2020-present)
Sports: NFL & NHL
Ah yeah the history is the best part for me personally. I think many others would agree.
I love to imagine who may have held the coin before me. Or the stories the coin could tell if it could talk.
Maybe one of my denarii was part of the Emperor’s personal treasury? Or maybe it was used to pay a legionary at a famous battle? Or maybe both!
Or who held it before I got it. A Roman Senator like Brutus or Crassus? A famous general like Pompey or Caesar? Or maybe on the other end of the spectrum just a simple peasant like in the Bible which tells the story of a poor widow whose entire life savings was 10 denarii.
I just wish I could see and hear everything that my coins went through.
Your new denarius has excellent centering. Don't you love the hairstyle?
Unfortunately, for high-grade coins such as this one, that history is very likely to have been short and simple, since it clearly didn't see too many hands touching it before it found itself buried. So the "history" would be something like: "Coin was struck in a hurry by the travelling legionary mint, to pay the soldiers this week. Coin was given to a soldier. Soldier buried coin with a bunch of other coins, hoping to come back for them later. He never did; killed in battle, or simply forgot where he buried them? We'll never know. 1800 years later, coin was dug up again."
If you're into the coinage of Roman Imperial women, you might notice that the hairstyles on the women's portraits get more and more elaborate as time progressed. Hairstyles were apparently used as a display of wealth, particularly considering the amount of labour needed to get a hairstyle like this to work. This hairstyle sends a clear message: "I'm so rich, I have a whole bunch of slaves/servants to style my hair for me, and I have so much free time that I can afford to sit there for a couple of hours while they do this to my hair". Not entirely unlike that European fashion a couple of hundred years ago where clothes had like a bazillion buttons all over them; the only people physically capable of wearing such clothing were those wealthy enough to own a bunch of servants to help them do up and undo all those buttons.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
@Sapyx That is very true of this coin.
A lot of my other coins do have more circulation wear so those are the ones I think about when I wonder who owned them.
But I also love when I know some of the history. Like my Roman Republic Quadrigatus from the mid-late 3rd century BC is made of silver that was paid to Rome by Carthage after the First Punic War and the coin was used to pay legionaries fighting in the Second Punic War against Hannibal.
Just knowing that my coin has been part of that history is incredible.
But hey even a legionary burying it and then forgetting where he buried it is pretty cool too!
To be honest I never really look much at the hair xD.
Awesome coin, also Julia Domna was a star of her times.
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
Wonderful addition - congrats!
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Great example!
The wigs on the women of the Severan dynasty are quite distinctive.
Here's my Julia Domna and her daugther-in-law Plautilla who was exiled and eventually murdered by order of her husband, Julia's son Caracalla.
Great pick up! I love the Roman coins with the women on them.
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The women of Severan dynasty were amazing. For a while they were "the power behind the throne." Although they could not rule on their own, they supported young and weak men who were often emperors in make only.
Here are a couple of Julia Domna pieces that I have. The first one features Cybele, the goddess of wild nature, driving a cart pulled by lions. Only a goddess could have controlled that group!
And here is a second piece, with the goddess Isis on the reverse nursing her son, Horus.
Nice coins!
I think women always had a certain amount of "behind the scenes" power even if it wasn't publicly acknowledged.
Even over strong Emperors. I think Livia had influence over Augustus and Faustina had influence over Marcus Aurelius in particular. Both of whom I think we can all agree were very strong and capable Emperors.
Not just wives either. Commodus' sister Lucilla had a HUGE network of influential people (Senators included) supporting them. Commodus didn't even know about it.
I also think Agrippa had a lot of power and influence over her husband Germanicus as well even if he wasn't an Emperor.
Another great example is Cleopatra's influence over both Mark Antony AND Julius Caesar (she did have his son Caesarion) which really shows how even very capable & powerful men were influenced by women in their lives.
It's an interesting subject because it's not something that was made public and most of it was behind the scenes so we can never really see exactly how much power & influence women had back then.
Excellent coins Swamp!
I (kinda) have a Plautilla coin in the sense that I have Plautilla on the reverse of a Caracalla denarius xD.
I'm guessing this coin was meant as propaganda to give of the impression to the public of a "happy marriage". Especially based on the "CONCORDIA-FELIX" which basically means "happy marriage". xD
Caracalla must have wanted the public to believe everything was going great.
I seem to be acquiring alot of marriage related denarii lately.
Oh and just for fun this is the obverse of the same coin:
Caracalla (AD 198-217). AR denarius (19mm, 3.28 gm, 5h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 201-206. ANTONINVS-PIVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla right, seen from behind / CONCORDIA-FELIX, Plautilla, on left, standing right, clasping right hands with Caracalla, on right, standing left, with scroll in left hand. RIC IV.I 124b.
Here's my version, surfaces are nowhere near as nice as the OP's or @BillJones.
Nice!
Congratulations, @MKUltra24 !
I had the good fortune to see all of the Ed's Treasures coins when they were raw, before Heritage sent them to NGC. There is nothing like sorting through tray after tray of raw denarii and aurei!
Late to the party - but nice coin! Amazing the quality of production and then conservation. Very different from post-Roman minting capabilities at least in the west.
My current "Box of 20"
Thanks!
Wow that's incredible! I wish I could work as an intern at a place like HA or Stacks & Bowers or somewhere like that so I could see all kinds of amazing coins. Heck I'd work for free just to be able to see them xD.
Thanks Bob!