The reverse of a dupondius of Herennia Etruscilla, 250 CE.

Pudicitia was the personification of chaste modesty. The word "pudicity," though rarely used, survives today with the same meaning. She appears on the coins of several empresses, including Faustina Junior, the daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius. Ironically, this daughter of an exemplary family was rumoured to be far from chaste.

The reverse of a denarius of Lucilla, 166-169 CE.

The reverse of an antoninianus of Otacilia Severa, 244-245 CE.

Pudicitia was pictured as a fully clothed and veiled woman, usually seated and holding a long sceptre at an angle, and usually pulling her veil away from her face. The dupondius of Herennia Etruscilla on the right is a good example of this, with the legend PVDICITIA AVG, the modesty of the empress.

This was considered a very suitable type for an empress, showing her adherence to traditional values. On this coin, the veil is peing pulled directly from Pudicitia's forehead.

Unlike many other Roman reverse types, there were few variations in this depiction.

The reverse of an antoninianus of Herennia Etruscilla, 250-251 CE.

The reverse of a denarius of Julia Maesa, 218-220 CE.

Here are three of the fairly subtle variants that can be found. Above left, the right hand is held to the breast and there is no sceptre; next to that, the veil is being drawn out from the shoulder; and near right, the veil is looped from the forehead and is being grasped in the hand.

Occasionally, Pudicitia is shown standing, as in the last example, an antoninianus of Herennia Etruscilla, with the veil once again being drawn out from the forehead.

There is not much more to say about Pudicitia. The type was not meant to be exciting or even particularly interesting. It was sending a message of modest conformity. For some empresses, it is the type you are most likely to come across. Julia Maesa, for example. She was the sister of an empress and the grandmother of two emperors, at which time she was apparently a power behind the throne, thought to have engineered the removal of one grandson in favour of the other. But her coins did not hint of that, speaking of piety, modesty, and celebrating the happiness of the age.