JuliaDomnaFecunditasDenarius

AR Julia Domna Denarius 193-217 A.D.(2.75g) struck 198-209 A.D. O: Draped bust r.; IULIA AUGUSTA; RIC 549(R); BMC 159,21 R: FECUNDITAS; Fecunditas reclining l.under tree; she rests r.hand on orb decorated with stars and l.arm on basket of fruit; the Four Seasons represented as small figures advance over orb toward her. G: Ex. Apostolo Zeno Collection, Auction Dorotheum, Vienna, June 13, 1955(lot 1473)."Dark toning. Very rare and one of the finest examples known of this remarkable type." EF S: Edward J.Waddell, Ltd. FPL 63 (lot 134); 6/8/94 Rare: only five specimens in Reka Devnia hoard. Cohen's 20 franc valuation, correct in the first edition no. 21, is misprinted as 2 francs in the second edition. Apart from coins of Domna, the same type also appeared on medallions of Hadrian and Commodus, in both cases with the legend TELLVS STABIL. Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750), a Venetian nobleman who was a famous poet and librettist (he wrote the texts for 36 operas). He served as poet laureate to the Habsburg emperor in Vienna in 1718, but when he retired to Venice in 1729 he seems to have devoted the rest of his life to coin collecting. His collections, bought by the Abbey of St. Florian in Austria in 1747, were sold beginning in 1955.