Obverse: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA; Draped Bust of the
Empress Facing Right
Reverse: IVNONI REGINAE; Juno, Standing to the
Left, Holding a Patera and a Sceptre, a Peacock
Stands at her Feet
Faustina the Elder was loved very much by her
husband, Emperor Antoninus Pius. They lived
happily together during one of the most peaceful
and prosperous periods of Roman history. Under
the rule of Trajan, the empire had reached its
greatest extent but Hadrian was willing to
sacrifice size for security, surrendering all
territory across the Danube in exchange for a
strong, defensible frontier. Thus Anoninus Pius
and Faustina inherited an empire reveling in the
economic prosperity that flourishes under a
powerful and stable government. Numismatic
evidence suggests that Faustina the Elder
concerned herself with charitable work and the
betterment of the lives of Rome’s poor populace.
One coin, on the reverse, commemorates the
PVELLAE FAVSTINIANAE (Faustina's Girls). This
refers to a fund Faustina had established to pay
for the education of girls from poor Roman
families. When Faustina the Elder died in A. D.
141, she was deeply mourned by her husband.
Antoninus Pius had his wife consecrated and had
commemorative coins, such as this splendid
example, struck bearing her portrait.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. This ancient coin is a memorial
an emperor’s departed wife passed from the
hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation that still appears as
vibrant today as the day it was struck. Found in
Jericho, Palestine
- (C.0625)
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