Owner Comments:
This ancient bronze was struck in the name of Salonina Matidia (68 – 119 AD), daughter of Ulpia Marciana and Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus. Matidia was the niece of Augustus Trajan, who, having no children of his own, was said to have cared for her as his own daughter. He even granted her the title of Augusta, the first time ever that such an honor was bestowed outside the Emperor’s nuclear family.
There is little known regarding Matidia. Some information can be discerned from her surviving coinage, including this ancient bronze struck in the northwest Asia Minor realm of Phyrgia. Specifically, this coin originated in the mint of Cotiaeum, best known for Alexander of Cotiaeum, an ancient scholar recruited by Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pius, to instruct one of his Caesars, Marcus Aurelius. Cotiaeum was not a very prolific mint; this particular issue is quite scarce, with nine specimens cited in a seminal ancient coin reference. This coin’s composition bears many similarities to other contemporaneous Asia Minor issues. The obverse features Matidia’s draped bust, identified by her inscription, ΜΑΤΙΔΙΑ СЄΒΑСΤΗ. Of particular note is Matidia’s impressive pompadour, similar to the coiffure sported by her mother Marciana and her aunt Plotina. The reverse features Zeus seated on His throne, reminiscent of Hellenistic coinage from previous centuries.
Matidia married at least twice, and bore at least as many children, including a daughter named Vibia Sabina. At the insistence of Augusta Plotina, Sabina was betrothed to the future Emperor Hadrian. Matidia’s legacy does not stop there; her great-grandson descended from another daughter would become the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Coin Details: PHRYGIA, Cotiaeum, Matidia (Augusta, 112-119), Ae (6.53 g, 20 mm), Cl. Varus, magistrate, NGC Grade: Ch F, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 3/5, Obverse: Draped bust right, ΜΑΤΙΔΙΑ СЄΒΑСΤΗ, Reverse: Zeus seated right on throne, holding scepter, ЄΠΙ ΚΛ ΟVΑΡΟV ΚΟΤΙΑЄΩΝ, References: RPC III 2632; SNG von Aulock 3780; BMC 43.