The
HILARITAS type of Marcus'
COS II period, 145-7 AD, occurs on
sestertii, middle bronzes,
aurei, and
denarii, and was doubtless struck mainly or exclusively in 145, since it
had already been introduced at the end of the year before, with
COS DES II (late 144).
The first picture shows the normal
type:
Hilaritas stands left,
weight on r.
leg, holding long
palm and
cornucopia, the tip of which curves left towards her body.
The second picture shows a variety that I first noticed in NAC R, 2007, lot 1542:
Hilaritas still has her
weight on her r.
leg, but her
cornucopia is turned the other way, its tip pointing away from her body, as though seen from a different angle because she is twisting her upper body more to the right.
The third coin I acquired from the recent
CNG E256, lot 342: here
Hilaritas has shifted her
weight from her right to her left
leg, the pose I call "standing right,
head left", and the tip of her
cornucopia again points away from her body.
These variations are minor, but I think they have to be regarded as deliberate, since they entail distinct changes from the
standard type. I have not noted the variant poses on any other
denomination (middle bronzes,
aurei,
denarii), though admittedly I have not searched very far.
