Portrait Styles on Roman Imperial Coinage

A number of portrait styles exist on Roman Imperial coinage. A portrait style can be a head with the design only to the base of the neck, or a bust where the design is to below the shoulders. There are three design elements that classify a portrait as follows:

The first element is the headdress that is worn by the figure. The headdress not only distinguishes styles, but at times was used to distinguish coin denominations. A head may be bare, not wearing anything; laureate, wearing a laurel wreath; radiate, wearing a radiate crown; diademed, wearing a diadem, helmeted, wearing a military helmet; or veiled, wearing a burial shroud.

The second element, if the portrait is a bust, is the style of dress of the figure. If cloth is worn, the style is draped, while if armor is worn the style is curiassed. Cloth may also be worn over armor, and then the bust is draped and curiassed. Special forms of dress are the Imperial mantle where the figure also often holds a scepter, and when the figure is in full armor and holds a shield and spear.

The third design element is the direction the portrait is facing - right or left.

Note that in numismatic literature these terms are frequently abbreviated. For instance, p. 293 of Van Meter, describing the folles obverse types of Crispus, he states "The obverse type is either laur. hd. r. or l.; or laur., dr. and/or cuir. bust r. or l."

The table below shows examples of various portrait styles, and the section that follows shows additional portrait variations.

bare head
bare bust, draped
laureate head
laureate bust, draped
laureate bust, draped and curiassed
laureate bust, curiassed, holding palladium
radiate bust, draped
radiate bust, curiassed
radiate bust, draped and curiassed
diademed head (pearl style)
diademed bust (pearl style, on crescent), draped
diademed bust (pearl style), draped and curiassed
diademed bust (pearl style), draped and curiassed, holding a globe
diademed bust (flower rosette style), draped and curiassed
diademed bust (square rosette style), draped and curiassed
diademed bust (circle rosette style), draped and curiassed
helmeted bust, curiassed
helmeted, armored¹
helmeted, radiate, armored
helmeted, diademed, armored
Imperial mantle (consular bust), laureate, holding globe and mappa
Imperial mantle (consular bust), radiate, holding eagle tipped scepter
veiled
diademed, and looking toward the heavens

For every basic portrait style there are many variations that can be examined. Hairstyles, especially amongst portraits of women, are varied. Hair can be in styles such as buns, pleated, or down to the neck. Jewelry, such as necklaces, can be worn.

Portraits can even vary amongst issues of the same subject. For instance, Severina is seen with two or three rows of beads:

Helena is shown both with and without the outer hair band:

Julia Domna is found with both triangular and circular earrings:

Variation in hairstyle is not limited to portraits of women, however. Constantine is found with straight, wavy, and curly hair:

Another variation between portraits of the same ruler, if the ruler has been emperor long enough, is a difference in age. The coin on the left is Marcus Aurelius from 143 AD when he was 22, while the coin on the right is also Marcus Aurelius, but from 164 AD, 21 years later. Note that both are bare head right.

A second example showing age are these two portraits of Geta. The first is from a coin minted in 200 when he was 11, and the second from a coin minted in 211 when he was 22.

Please direct comments to calkinsc@lotn.org

¹It has been mentioned that this may also be radiate. In my opinion it is a radiate pattern on the helmet rather than being an actual radiate crown. When compared to the one following, the crown clearly hangs below the helmet while on this one it is superimposed.