Annia Faustina Denarius (AD 221) - Third Wife of Elagabalus and Rome Brief Harmony

In the turbulent and theatrical world of the Severan dynasty, few figures stand out as fleeting yet historically fascinating as Annia Aurelia Faustina, the third wife of the controversial emperor Elagabalus. Her short tenure as Augusta is immortalized in an extraordinary Denarius (RIC IV 232). This coin, one of only five known examples, provides a unique glimpse into the ceremonial, dynastic, and political ambitions of the young imperial couple, even as their union proved short-lived.

A Noble Lineage and Imperial Marriage

Annia Faustina was no ordinary noblewoman. She was a great-granddaughter of Marcus Aurelius, linking the Severan dynasty to Rome’s revered Antonine lineage. Following the controversial divorce of Elagabalus’s second wife, the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa, Annia Faustina was elevated to Augusta in AD 221, in what was both a personal union and a deliberate political maneuver. By marrying a woman of distinguished Roman heritage, Elagabalus sought to solidify his legitimacy and placate traditionalist critics alarmed by his earlier unconventional marriage. Yet, like much of Elagabalus’s reign, this marriage was brief and fraught with tension. Within the year, he divorced Annia Faustina and returned to Aquilia Severa, leaving Annia to vanish from historical record. Her fleeting presence as empress makes surviving numismatic evidence all the more precious.

The Coin: Artistry, Symbolism, and Rarity

• Obverse: A bare-headed and draped bust of Annia Faustina faces right, with the legend ANNIA FAVSTINA AVG. The portrait emphasizes her dignity, grace, and status as Augusta, blending idealized beauty with the solemnity expected of a Roman empress.
• Reverse: The coin depicts Concordia, the goddess of harmony, embodied by the young imperial couple themselves. Elagabalus, laureate and togate, and Annia Faustina, diademed and draped, stand facing each other in dextrarum iunctio clasping right hands a gesture adopted in Roman marriage ceremonies to symbolize concord, unity, and the fusion of two families. A star floats between them, further invoking divine sanction and cosmic favor. The legend CONCORDIA reinforces the message of harmony both within the imperial household and the broader empire.

The coin’s surface is slightly frosty and toned, reflecting centuries of preservation, and its condition is exceptional for such a rare issue. As the fifth known example of this type, it is likely the finest surviving specimen, with the other four located in major collections across Europe.

A Symbol of Fleeting Harmony

Struck to commemorate a marriage that lasted mere months, the denarius captures the transience and drama of Annia Faustina’s brief reign as Augusta. While Elagabalus’s earlier union with Aquilia Severa had scandalized Rome, his marriage to Annia Faustina symbolized an attempt at dynastic stability and reconciliation with Roman tradition, uniting the Severans with the prestigious Antonine line. The imagery of the coin, the clasped hands, Concordia, and celestial star, conveys an ideal of marital and political harmony that would never fully materialize.

Legacy and Numismatic Significance

Coins of Annia Faustina are extraordinarily rare, a testament to her ephemeral presence on the imperial stage. Each surviving denarius serves as both a historical record and a work of art, capturing the ceremonial grandeur, dynastic aspirations, and fleeting moments of harmony that marked her brief time as empress. The Triton XII denarius stands as a pinnacle of collector and scholarly interest, not merely a monetary artifact, but a narrative in silver of an Augusta whose life and reign were brief, yet symbolically powerful. In the end, this denarius reminds us of the ephemeral nature of power and status in Imperial Rome: dynasties rise and fall, marriages are made and dissolved, but coins endure as silent witnesses to history, preserving the image, ideals, and ambitions of those who once held the highest honor in the empire.