TITLE:
Roman Empresses’ Coins from a Private Collection: A Descriptive Archaeological Study
AUTHORS:
Musallam R. Al-Rawahneh, Vagner Carvalheiro Porto
KEYWORDS:
Roman Empire Period, Roman Empresses, Numismatics, Roman Coins
JOURNAL NAME:
Archaeological Discovery,
Vol.11 No.2,
April
12,
2023
ABSTRACT: This is the first study of a unique private collection of coins belonging to Roman empresses. The collection includes silver and bronze/copper coins bearing inscriptions, pictures, symbols, and monograms. These coins have significant artistic implications as they represent unique Roman styles and types, and some of them are rare. The time frame of the existence and usage of the study sample extends from the beginning of the first century A.D. to the beginning of the fourth century A.D., concurrent with the emergence of the Roman Empire and the height of its expansion and prosperity. The study also seeks to discuss the reasons these coins depicting the empresses were produced; for example, the marriage of Marcus Aurelius with the emperor’s daughter, Faustina the Younger—the coins attesting the desire for the continuation of the dynasty and celebrating the beginning of a new Saeculum Aureum. The coinage also reflects the joint rule of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus until 169 A.D., when Faustina II and Lucilla were depicted. Homonoia and the victory over Armenia were also depicted, and the decades are celebrated. We also discuss the possible reasons for the deterioration of bronze coinage in the second half of 2nd century A.D. and the reasons that led to a substantial increase in coinage in the name of Augusta at the end of Hadrian’s reign.