Getty Museum

Denarius with Faustina the Younger

Date

A.D. 161–175

Medium

Silver

Culture

Roman

Department

Coins

Institution

Getty Museum

Annia Galeria Faustina, known as Faustina the Younger, was the daughter of the emperor Antoninus Pius and his wife, who was also named Annia Galeria Faustina (called Faustina the Elder). The official sculpted portraits of Faustina the Younger can be dated according to changes in her hairstyle. Her wavy hair, drawn back into a bun and worn low on her neck, is the hairstyle that Faustina wore in portraits made after A.D. 161. The Latin inscription, FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, means "Faustina Augusta," the word "Augusta" being the feminine form of "Augustus," the title used by the emperor himself. The goddess Juno, inscribed IVNO, holds a scepter and an offering bowl, while a peacock, her symbolic animal, stands beside her. As the wife of the god Jupiter, ruler of the Roman pantheon, Juno was a perfect metaphor for Faustina's imperial status and relationship to the emperor.

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