Faustina the Younger Silver Denarius, RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677

Monetary Context

During the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, and continuing through Marcus's sole rule, the denarius served as the principal silver denomination of the Roman Empire. Following the monetary reforms of Nero in 64 AD and subsequent adjustments by Trajan and Antoninus Pius, the silver denarius was struck at roughly 1/96 of a Roman pound, with a theoretical target weight near 3.38 grams. Under Antoninus Pius and throughout the 160s AD, silver fineness stood typically between seventy-five and eighty percent, though fiscal pressures related to the Marcomannic Wars and the Antonine Plague prompted slight reductions in fineness later in the reign. Within this established bimetallic and trimetallic system, denarii were mass-produced to meet imperial obligations, including military pay, state administration, and grain supplies. Concurrently, imperial coin reverses functioned as the primary mass-communication medium of the Roman state. Coinage for imperial women occupied a substantial portion of regular output. Under the Antonines, the Empress was presented as a guarantor of peace and continuity. Issues for Faustina the Younger, who was elevated to the rank of Augusta in 147 AD under Antoninus Pius and remained Augusta until her death in late 175 or early 176 AD, consistently emphasized virtues of domestic harmony, piety, and above all, childbearing. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677 fits squarely into this framework, combining high economic utility with dynastic messaging.

Production and Mints

The entire regular series of silver denarii bearing the name and likeness of Faustina the Younger under Marcus Aurelius was produced by the central imperial mint at Rome. Although eastern provincial mints operated during Lucius Verus's Parthian campaigns and provincial civic bronze coinages circulated extensively throughout the Greek East, standard silver denarii of this type originated exclusively in the capital. Production at Rome was organized into distinct officinae (workshops). While denarii of the Antonine era do not bear explicit officina marks, hoard analyses and die studies indicate that pairs of workshops were allocated to different members of the imperial family, with dedicated dies cut for Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Faustina the Younger, and later Lucilla and Commodus. Flans were cast in moulds and struck hot or warm between hand-cut iron dies. Die axes for this issue generally conform to a predominantly upright or inverted orientation (six o'clock or twelve o'clock), standard for the Rome mint in the second half of the second century AD. Weights across surviving specimens typically range between 2.8 and 3.5 grams, reflecting normal tolerances in ancient batch-casting and alloy preparation.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677 features a right-facing, draped bust of Empress Faustina the Younger. She is portrayed bare-headed, without a stephane or diadem, emphasizing her natural and domestic dignity rather than overt divine assimilations. Her mantle or palla is draped neatly around her shoulders, covering the lower truncation of the neck in standard Antonine court fashion. Faustina's coiffure provides the primary stylistic diagnostic for the type. Her hair is rendered in horizontal waves across the crown of the head, drawn back from the temple, and gathered into a rounded chignon or braided bun pinned low at the back of the skull. This arrangement, often termed Faustina's fourth or fifth portrait hairstyle depending on modern classification systems, contrasts sharply with the earlier, more elaborate upright braids worn during the reign of Antoninus Pius. The simplified wave and bun style was adopted around 161 AD upon the accession of Marcus Aurelius and reflects the restrained, stoic aesthetic favoured by the new imperial court, presenting the Empress as an exemplar of traditional Roman matronly modesty.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolism

The reverse of the coin presents a full-length, draped figure of Fecunditas standing and turned toward the right. In her right hand she holds a long vertical sceptre, a traditional attribute of royal majesty and divine authority derived from Juno, queen of the gods. In her left arm she tenderly cradles a wrapped infant, while her gaze or posture inclines toward the child. The personification of Fecunditas was among the most personal and critical motifs assigned to Faustina the Younger. Unlike earlier empresses such as Sabina, who bore no heirs, Faustina gave birth to at least thirteen or fourteen children between 147 and 170 AD. In 161 AD, around the time Marcus Aurelius assumed power, she delivered twin boys, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Commodus. The inclusion of a single infant held in Fecunditas's arms, coupled with the sceptre, symbolizes the divine blessing of imperial fertility and the preservation of dynastic succession. The sceptre transforms the domestic act of nursing or carrying a child into a political statement: the infant is an heir to the Roman state, ensuring future stability and the continuation of the ruling house.

Legends and Inscriptional Formulas

The inscriptions on RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677 are concise and adhere strictly to the established titular conventions for the Antonine empress during her husband's reign. The obverse legend reads FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, curving clockwise around the bust, usually beginning in the lower left field. Following the death of Antoninus Pius in March 161 AD, Faustina dropped the patronymic filiation 'AVGVSTI PII FIL' (Daughter of Augustus Pius), which had defined her coinage throughout her father's reign. The simplified title FAVSTINA AVGVSTA remained her standard obverse legend until her death in late 175 or 176 AD, affirming her direct, unmediated standing as the reigning Augusta. The reverse legend is comprised of the single nominative noun FECVNDITAS, inscribed continuously along the upper border. Unlike some contemporary issues of Marcus Aurelius or Lucius Verus, which record dated tribunician power (TR P) or consulships (COS), coinages struck for empresses did not record magistrate dates. The reverse legend serves purely as a personification label, defining the standing figure and directly attributing the virtue of abundance and fruitfulness to the Augusta.

Typology and Chronology

The broad catalogue date range for RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677 spans from the accession of Marcus Aurelius in 161 AD to Faustina's death and subsequent deification between late 175 and 176 AD. However, specialist typological studies, notably those by Klaus Szaivert and Harold Mattingly, narrow the probable striking window within this fifteen-year period. The Fecunditas with sceptre and infant type exists alongside related compositions showing Fecunditas seated with children or standing between two or more infants. The birth of imperial offspring often prompted specific pulses of coinage: the birth of the twins in 161 AD, the birth of Marcus Annius Verus in 162 AD, and subsequent children throughout the 160s AD. Because the obverse portrait on RIC 677 exhibits the mature waved hairstyle without pearls or stephane, the issue is generally placed in the 160s AD, closely following the accession of Marcus Aurelius. It forms part of the large initial coinage struck to proclaim the fertility of the new Augustan household and to reassure the Roman world of secure succession, standing distinct from the posthumous issues of late 175 AD onward, which alter the legends to DIVA FAVSTINA PIA.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Denarii of Faustina the Younger, including RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677, enjoyed extensive and enduring circulation throughout the western and Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire. Vast quantities of second-century silver were moved to frontier zones along the Rhine and Danube to support legions stationed against the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Iazyges during the northern campaigns. Hoard evidence from Britain, Gaul, Germany, and the Balkans demonstrates that Antonine denarii remained in active circulation for decades after their issue. They frequently appear in third-century coin hoards, such as the famous Reka Devnia hoard in Bulgaria and numerous Romano-British hoards, where they circulated alongside the debased issues of the Severan dynasty and the early soldier-emperors. Because the denarii of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius maintained a relatively high silver content compared to third-century antoniniani, they were eventually subjected to Gresham's Law and targeted for melting, recoining, or hoarding, but well-preserved specimens in diverse museum and private collections confirm that RIC 677 was struck in substantial volume and circulated widely across the Roman world.

References

1. The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Peace of Augustus to the Reform of Trajan. pp. 200-245
2. Die Bildnistypen der Faustina minor und die Fecunditas Augustae. Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen
3. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 399, no. 91
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Marcus Aurelius 677. ric.3.m_aur.677
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 269, no. 677
6. Die Münzprägung der Kaiser Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus und Commodus (161-192). MIR 18, Faustina II