Written by Antonio Alejandro Piccolo
Let’s continue our thematic series on the “Virtues of Roman Empresses”. Today’s focus is inspired by a gold aureus and an antoninianus of Herennia Etruscilla (249–251), featured as lots 116 and 117 in our most recent Auction 10.
Who was Herennia Etruscilla
Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla (her full name) belonged to an ancient senatorial family of Etruscan—or possibly Samnite—origin, and was married to Trajan Decius, a military officer of Illyrian descent whose career ultimately led him to the imperial throne.
At that time, the Empire was undergoing a period of crisis, marked by military anarchy and weakened by wars against Germanic tribes invading Roman territories. Political upheaval was constant, and the so-called “soldier emperors” were both agents and victims of these turbulent times—Decius being no exception.
In 249 AD, near Verona, Decius’ army defeated that of Emperor Philip the Arab, thus allowing him to ascend to the throne. But just two years later, in 251 AD, during a battle against the Goths at Abritus in Moesia, Decius was killed on the field, along with his son Herennius Etruscus.
During his reign, Decius sought to consolidate his power through a careful dynastic policy, and as a result, his wife enjoyed considerable public prestige.
Etruscilla was immediately granted the title of Augusta, and in 250 AD, their two sons, Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian, were elevated to the rank of Caesars. The following year, shortly before the Battle of Abritus, Decius associated his son Herennius with imperial power, raising him to the same rank of Augustus.
The aureus and the antoninianus of Herennia Etruscilla
Turning to the more specifically numismatic aspect of our post, we observe that the aureus and the antoninianus feature two different portraits of the empress.
The diademed and draped portrait on the aureus displays the following facial features: a pointed nose with wide nostrils, a pronounced distance between the mouth and nose, and a prominent chin. The hairstyle, composed of smooth bands, ends in a braid folded over the nape of the neck, echoing a fashion popular during the Severan period.
Auction 10, Lot 116, Etruscilla (249-253) Aureo – D/ Busto diademato a dx della moglie di Decio Traiano. “HER ETRUSCILLA AUG”. R/ La Pudicizia, panneggiata e velata, seduta a sx, solleva il velo con la mano dx e tiene con la sx uno scettro trasversale, dritto
The antoninianus, on the other hand, features a more idealized portrait. Etruscilla wears a diadem on her head, her bust is draped and rests upon a crescent moon. Here too, she displays an elaborate “melon-style” hairstyle, previously worn by the former empress Otacilia Severa (AD 244–249), wife of Philip the Arab.
Auction 10, Lot 117, Etruscilla (249-251) moglie di Decio Traiano – Antoniniano – D/ Busto drappeggiato a dx. “HER ETRUSCILLA AUG”. R/ La Pudicizia drappeggiata e velata stante a sx con scettro. “PUDICITIA AUG”, dritto
The reverse of both coins features the personification of PUDICITIA AUGUSTA—seated on a throne on the aureus, and standing on the antoninianus. In both cases, the goddess covers her face with a veil and holds a scepter in her left hand.
Auction 10, Lot 116 e 117, Etruscilla (249-253) Aureo e Antoniniano, rovesci
The virtue praises the empress’s modest and virtuous conduct, with her conjugal life devoted entirely to the prosperity of the dynasty—a theme also promoted through the coinage bearing the legend FECUNDITAS AUGUSTORUM.
Upon Decius’ death on July 1, 251, the troops proclaimed Trebonianus Gallus as emperor. To legitimize his power, he confirmed Herennia Etruscilla in her title of Augusta and elevated her son Hostilian to co-emperor. However, Hostilian died shortly thereafter from the plague. No further historical records about Etruscilla survive beyond these years.
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