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Author Topic: The Left-Facing Portrait  (Read 23599 times)

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Offline Optimo Principi

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The Left-Facing Portrait
« on: September 28, 2010, 03:58:50 pm »
Salve all,

I am eager to pick the brains of the many experts here regarding the rare usage of the left-facing imperial portrait on Roman coinage.

As the vast majority of imperial portraits from all eras are right-facing (not sure if there is a technical term for that?) it has always intrigued me when I have come across the opposite, online or at fairs - unfortunately I do not own one yet.

What was the left-facing portrait bust's significance and when was it used? Is it synonomous with a particular type of event in history or or they merely the result of slightly experimental/rebellious die makers? It seems that many left-facing portraits are on very high quality dies (see my profile pic) but maybe that is my imagination. Was it reserved for gold coinage to display its importance?

Surely, even to contemporaries, it was quite a surprise to see a left-facing portrait on a new issue of coinage.

Obviously, this could be a place to share any pictures of your leftie coins!

Offline Optimo Principi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2010, 04:15:56 pm »
2 fantastic lefties....

Offline areich

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2010, 04:28:20 pm »
I'm not normally one to drool over aurei but that one's fantastic.
Andreas Reich

Offline mauseus

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2010, 04:52:28 pm »
Hi,

The left facing bust is usually a special obverse apart from under a few emperors, eg Probus, where more than usual types are known. Can't explain that.

Re Trajan sestertii, here are my two examples, the first a double die duplicate to the one above (but thankfully cost me a lot less - the one above was about £80k wasn't it?).



Trajan 98-117 AD
AE sestertius
Obv "........NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER..........."
Laureate, nude "heroic" bust left.
Rev "SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC"
Ceres stg left holding corn ears and torch, modius to left
Rome mint
RIC 478



Trajan 98-117 AD
AE sestertius
Obv "IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS V PP"
Laureate bust left
Rev "SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC"
Emperor on horseback right spearing Dacian in front of horse
Rome mint
RIC 534

Regards,

Mauseus

Offline dougsmit

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2010, 09:06:02 pm »
Lets try to remember that the meaning of a leftie under one emperor will not necessarily be the same as the meaning (if any) under another.  I would love to know why there are a very few left dies under my favorite Severans but equally why I've not seen a right facing Caligula as, for example.  The only answer I have is for the FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins of Constantius II and Constans that first came in three denominations with the middle one facing left.  That made a lot of sense to me.  I wish all dupondii had been left facing so we would know the intent of some of our patinated bronzes. 

Show and tell:  Geta as and Septimius denarius

Offline Jay GT4

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2010, 10:07:07 pm »
I remember reading there was something special about left facing Roma's under the Republic.  If I remember correctly it had something to do with the moneyer.  I'll try to dig it out.

I have two Vespasian denarii of the same type, one faces left the other right.  Not sure if there would be any special meaning or reason other then the engraver.


IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG
Laur. head facing left

rev. COS VII
Pair of oxen under yoke

Rome 77-78 AD
RSC 134a, RIC 107
3.1g

Rare with Vespasian facing left!

Offline ecoli

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2010, 01:00:33 pm »


Early empire seems to have more lefties...


Offline Andrew McCabe

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2010, 01:35:34 am »
I remember reading there was something special about left facing Roma's under the Republic.  If I remember correctly it had something to do with the moneyer.  I'll try to dig it out.


There was a Celator article recently on Republican lefties. They are odd and uncommon types. Some below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3351040163/   http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3538857580/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/4857760778/   http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/4123666779/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3352028240/

The most intriguing series of lefties is that by Octavian, the first coin illustrated below, where there are matching left and right coins in each set, and then there are alternating coins where Octavian appears on the reverse or obverse, almost like a puzzle.  Sutherland's "Octavian's Gold and Silver Coinage from c.32 to 27BC" (Quaderni Ticinesi 1976, offprint republished 1997) decipher's it all but if you have RIC1 then you have the same layout but without the discussion.

Offline Andrew McCabe

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2010, 01:59:49 am »

The most intriguing series of lefties is that by Octavian, the first coin illustrated below, where there are matching left and right coins in each set, and then there are alternating coins where Octavian appears on the reverse or obverse, almost like a puzzle.  Sutherland's "Octavian's Gold and Silver Coinage from c.32 to 27BC" (Quaderni Ticinesi 1976, offprint republished 1997) decipher's it all but if you have RIC1 then you have the same layout but without the discussion.

Illustrated below are some of the matching Octavian Obverse/Reverse and Left/Right combos I mentioned in my prior message:

The first coin which shows Victory/Octavian (as Neptune) pairs with the Octavian/Victory denarius shown in the above posting; http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3351377359/

The second and third coins are a pair: Pax/Octavian (a superb coin!) and Octavian/Pax:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/4788136950/   http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3352204080/

The next pair take the mix-up even further: The first has a Terminal bust of Octavian on the obverse and a seated Octavian on the reverse, the second has a head of Octavian on obverse and a Terminal column with a head of Octavian on top of it on reverse
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/4857140263/   http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/3538150645/
These then come in left and right versions etc. etc.

It's a fascinating series. It comes in pre-Actium (33 BC - 30 BC) and post Actium versions (30BC - 27BC) but with the same play in both. The two series are shown here:
Before Battle of Actium: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/sets/72157615999739661/detail/
After battle of Actium: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/sets/72157616090224772/detail/

The Scarpus coins which I illustrate (Crawford 546) date from after his defection to Octavian and therefore are shown in the second of these two sets. Neither Grueber, Sydenham nor Crawford included any of these Octavian coins in their Republican catalogues but they were incorrect in doing so as many of the types definitely date before Actium and all date before the assumption of the title of Augustus in 27BC.

For a comparison of what is said about Scarpus by Crawford (very very little) and Grueber (a lot) see here:
http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/Catalogues.html#footnotes  (read down 1/2 page). Grueber as always has a lot more information than Crawford. But I guess I'm digressing from lefties here ....





Offline slokind

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2010, 02:10:29 am »
This is a Provincial, but here the left-facing portrait seems to mark it as a 3-assaria instead of 4-assaria.  It is an isolated issue.
• HrJ 8.14.35.5 NEMESIS DIKAIOSYNE (goad, scales, wheel).  Septimius Severus, head to l. AV KAI SE SE    VÊROS•PERRev., NEIKOPOLIT    ÔN PROS ISTR (from Pick and best specimen in HrJ.  The equivalent coin (epithet carefully chosen), AMNG I,1 1345, sda Domna's 1471, does not omit an iota from the ethnic and does not have Septimius' head to left, but it does have the same punctuation but PER rather than P at the end of his name.  Since the recent coins were sold in a lot (some of them, at least) and may have been found together, I would regard these triassarion-size brasses as true variants of Pick 1345, whether you call them zweier or dreier.  Actually, at 6+ to 7+ grams, they must be dreier. The portrait looks like a Gentianus of Nicopolis.
27 09 06 23mm 5.68g axis 1h.
Note on these small brasses the same 'dimples' as on the 26-28mm signed coins
Pat L.
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Offline maridvnvm

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2010, 07:02:50 am »
I have just received the following coin that fits fairly well into this thread:-

Antoninus Pius Denarius
Obv: IMP T AEL CAES HADRI ANTONINVS, Bare head left
Rev: AVG PIVS P M TR P COS DES II, Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus & cornucopia
Minted in Rome. A.D. 138
Reference:– RIC 11. BMC 17 Note. Strack 16. Cohen 76 (citing M. Hamburger - 6F)

RIC rates it as scarce citing the Cohen example. Not present in BMC also citing Cohen. RSC citing Cohen and Strack. This would all seem to confirm that it is quite a scarce coin, depending on what other examples have come to light since.

Regards,
Martin


Offline mauseus

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2010, 03:42:52 pm »
Hi,

Continuing the left facing Pius theme....



Antoninus Pius 138-61 AD
AE as
Obv "ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP"
Laureate head left
Rev "TR POT COS IIII SC"
Aeternitas standing left holding scarf and with out stretched arm
Rome mint
RIC 832b

Regards,

Mauseus

acidstormdd

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2010, 09:46:46 am »
Following the way of the left facing Pius.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-59431

But i think mine is left facing because the celator who made the die was in love , while making it  because instead of doing a mirror image of what it should be on the coin he did it regularly and facing right so when engraved on the coin the image was facing left this also made the legend start from right to left !

acidstormdd

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2010, 09:53:03 am »
Her's the coin better this way.

Offline Optimo Principi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2010, 10:57:03 am »
Quote
the celator who made the die was in love , while making it  because instead of doing a mirror image of what it should be on the coin he did it regularly and facing right so when engraved on the coin the image was facing left this also made the legend start from right to left !

Nice idea George. Do we think the decision to create a left facing portrait was a spontaneous one by a particularly artistic engraver, or would they have been given special instructions by the powers that be?

This could go into a whole other topic about who engravers answered to I suppose....

Offline Syltorian

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #15 on: October 11, 2010, 11:30:06 am »
I'm a bit surprised that the Romans did not avoid left-facing altogether. It was, after all, literally sinister. Consider Trimalchio, who had a slave solely for the purpose of preventing people from entering the triclinium with the left foot first. I wonder how someone that superstitious (admittedly, comic exaggeration on Petronius' part will play a role) would have reacted to a coin with the emperor staring into an inauspicious direction. But, given the existence of a number of these coins, the emperor doesn't seem to have called for maiestas trials against the celators in these cases...




acidstormdd

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #16 on: October 11, 2010, 03:24:21 pm »
I believe that the celators ,at least at Hadrianopolis, were the creators and the ones that did the quality control of the coins and the dies. Since my coin, which is obviously wrongly done, wouldn't pass up any kind of further inspection.
As i know the instructions they had is to create a coin with the bust of the current emperor accompanied by appropriate legend  depending on the status of the colony and the reverse was left for them to choose from a local deity.



Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2010, 04:44:30 am »
Probus anto from the middle-late roman coinage.
(All coins are from my collection.)

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2010, 06:07:40 am »
Agrippa AE (barbaric imitation)

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2010, 06:08:52 am »

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #20 on: October 13, 2010, 06:09:57 am »

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #21 on: October 13, 2010, 06:11:41 am »

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #22 on: October 13, 2010, 06:12:34 am »

Offline Tibsi

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2010, 06:16:06 am »
Faces to the left and to the right simultaneously: Republican AE AS

Offline dougsmit

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Re: The Left-Facing Portrait
« Reply #24 on: October 13, 2010, 08:22:18 am »
Fashions change.  Note that left facing busts become more common in the later 3rd century AD but often were fancy in some way that is not seen in right facing busts.  Take, for example coins of Probus with a great variety of military and consular busts facing left but the majority right facing busts are all ordinary in comparison.  By the Constantinian period we see left facing and fancy busts but many are used with younger rulers honoring their first appearance on the coin scene.  It is easier to find a fancy leftie for Licinius II than for his father.  It is almost as if the left bust has become a sign of less respect than the simple right bust just as a century before when a head was used for the Augustus but busts were used for lesser figures.  Perhaps I'm no better equipped to understand this than to understand why it was considered a sign of greater respect to have ones name split in two on the obverse legend as compared to being in a continuous arc as used for lesser persons (mostly kids). 

The reform that brought us the FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins introduced the concept of the left bust indicating the middle of three denominations and is the only case where I really see a plan behind the left/right question.  The denomination soon died and after that we rarely see left busts at all.  About that time we do get more facing busts especially on gold but that may not be related. 

Other than the FTR coins, I'd like to know why some coins were made left facing in any given issue.  In many cases there may be no reason.  It seems certain to me that the reason for one issue may be in no way related to the reason for any other.  In the cases of coins that were 99+% right facing (like Severans) I wonder what the Roman on the street thought when he saw a leftie.  Would it have attracted any notice or would it just have been something to spend?

 

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