ID help- Faustina I

[alvarof27]

Hi everyone!

I find myself unable to identify this coin, any idea who this might be? Or chronology? The coin is 27 mm diameter.

Cheers!

[Victor]

It is a bit earlier than Late Roman bronze, but it looks like Faustina the Elder who was the wife of Antoninus Pius. She became Empress in A.D. 138 when her uncle Hadrian died and her husband then became Emperor. Unfortunately, she died two years later. She had a daughter named Faustina the Younger who married Marcus Aurelius and they had many children, including the future Emperor Commodus.

[alvarof27]

Wow, thanks a lot for your answer Victor! I did not know this coin belonged to an earlier period, sorry... And sorry I forgot to post the reverse of the coin (here it is) does it make any difference? What is it supposed to be?

Cheers!!

[Victor]

The reverse of your coin is pretty worn, but I think this is it-

Faustina I, AE sestertius. 138-139 AD. FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII P P, draped bust right / IVNONI REGINAE, S-C. Draped throne with wreath on the seat; beneath the throne a peacock in splendour standing facing, head right. RIC 1079.

[alvarof27]

Thanks again Victor! It is amazing how much information can be obtained from such a worn coin!

I have checked the RIC, 1079 has an S under the column heading Or. Does that mean it is an Orichalcum sestertius?

Cheers!

[Victor]

Does that mean it is an Orichalcum sestertius?

Yes

[alvarof27]

Just one more question (as a beginner), if it is OK...

What is the difference (in weight, size appearance) between ases and sestertius at that time? Or, in other words, how can I identify a sestertius at that time? 

Thanks a lot for your help, I wish I had your knowledge.

[Victor]

during this period, from the 1st century after the reform of Augustus until the reign of Caracalla, the Sestertius was 25- 30 gm and 25- 35mm, while the As was 11gm and 24- 28mm. The Sestertius was also struck in orichalcum (brass) versus the As which was struck in copper.

[alvarof27]

And the Dupondius? Was the Dupondius similar to the Sestertius or the As? How to tell ot appart from the other?

Again, thanks so much!

[Victor]

The dupondius is around 12gm and 28mm and was struck in orichalcum (brass). The Romans sometimes got confused between the As and Dupondius, since they could be close in size. However, the brass dupondius was yellowish, while the copper As was reddish. The problem was though, that as the coins tarnished, the color differences were not so distinguishable. During the reign of Nero,the bust on the dupondius began to be depicted with a radiate crown, which easily separated it from the As.

[alvarof27]

So the difference between the Dupondius and the Sestertius is basically in weight (Dupondius about half of that of the Sestertius)? Because otherwise it would be approx. the same size and the same material...

[Victor]

generally, the dupondius (similar in size to the As) is smaller than the sestertius, but a large dupondius might be about the same size as a small sestertius. The dupondius (after Nero) is radiate though. The primary way to tell these coins apart is color, which is not always easy.

here is a quote from Curtis Clay about this-

"Nero introduced the radiate portrait on his bronze coins, and it soon became the mark of the dupondius. Galba and Vitellius, however, spurned Nero's innovation, probably considering it vainglorious; the color of the metal became the chief mark of their dupondii, which bore laureate or bare-headed portraits just like their asses. Vespasian too spurned the radiate crown on his earliest middle bronzes, and issued yellow-metal dupondii with laureate obv. dies until early in 71, when the radiate crown was reintroduced on dupondii and again became the conventional mark of that denomination."

"Nero differentiated his dupondii and asses by REVERSE TYPE"