TYPE |
Roman Empire, Julia Soaemias, mother of Elagabalus (218-22 AD), silver denarius |
DESCRIPTION |
. |
Obv: |
Draped bust of Julia to right; Latin legend: IVLIA SOAEMIAS AVG |
Rev: |
Venus standing w/ scepter and apple, star in field, legend VENUS CAELESTIS |
REFERENCE: |
SR 2170 |
GRADING: |
VF / AVF, gray toning, scarce |
ORDER INFO: |
R1345, $100 |
The coinage of Julia Soaemias is rather scarce, and was issued only sporadically during the short reign of her son Elagabalus. A devoted worshipper of the Eastern deity Baal like her son, they were both in the shadow of the powerful matriarch - Soaemias' mother Julia Maesa. On the reverse here, Venus is shown in one of her less obvious incarnations here, "caelestis" (i.e. "celestial" - of the skies), underscored by the star in the right field - a device which appears seldom and with a purpose on Roman coinage of this era, as oppposed to the common later use as a mint control mark. |
|
|