Lot 117
Lot 30117 > Diva Faustina Senior (AD 138-140/1). AV aureus (19mm, 6.88 gm, 11h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 141-147. DIVA•AVGVSTA-FAVSTINA•, draped bust of Diva Faustina Senior right, seen from front, hair elaborately waved in several loops around head, braided, drawn up and coiled on top with pearls / PIETAS•-AVG•, Pietas standing facing, veiled head left, incense box in left hand, dropping incense from right hand into candelabrum to left. RIC III (Antoninus Pius) 395a. Calicó 1796. Pietas, the quality of religious devotion, is personified on Roman coinage as a goddess performing a ritual sacrifice over an altar, as seen here. Although a patriarchal society, Romans placed great emphasis on what might be termed "feminine virtues" and honored them on their coins, particularly those of Roman empresses.
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