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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Roman Coins| ▸ |The Adoptive Emperors| ▸ |Antoninus Pius||View Options:  |  |  |   

Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D.

Titus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Arrius Antoninus was born around 86 A.D. to a distinguished family. After a typical senatorial career, he made a name for himself as proconsul of Asia. He was adopted as Emperor Hadrian's heir in February 138 A.D. and succeeded soon after. His reign was long and peaceful, a Golden Age of tranquility and prosperity. He died in 161 A.D., leaving Marcus Aurelius as his successor.

|Antoninus| |Pius|, |Antoninus| |Pius,| |August| |138| |-| |7| |March| |161| |A.D.||denarius|
Liberalitas coin types attest to occasions when the emperor has displayed his generosity towards the people by a distribution to them of money, provisions, or both. The first mention of Liberalitas was on coins of Hadrian. It was a type frequently repeated by the succeeding emperors. Indeed these instances of imperial generosity are more carefully recorded on coins than they are by history. Liberality is personified by the image of a woman, holding in one hand a counting board, or square tablet with a handle on which are cut a certain number of holes. These boards were used to quickly count the proper number of coins or other items for distribution to each person. In the other hand she holds a cornucopia, to indicate the prosperity of the state and the abundance of wheat contained in the public granaries.
SL113467. Silver denarius, RIC III 237 (R); RSC II 518; BMCRE IV p. 119, 821; Strack III 273; Hunter II -; SRCV II -, NGC Ch MS, strike 5/5, surface 5/5 (2400906-011), weight 3.35 g, maximum diameter 18 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, 153 - 154 A.D.; obverse ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XVII, laureate bust right; reverse LIBERALITAS VII COS IIII, Antoninus standing slightly left, bare head (with recognizable portrait!) left, togate, coin counting board in right hand, roll in left hand; from a Virginia Collector, ex Eastern Numismatics Inc. (Garden City, NY, 20 Dec 2010, $1650); NGC| Lookup; rare; $1650.00 SALE PRICE $1485.00
 


|Antoninus| |Pius|, |Antoninus| |Pius,| |August| |138| |-| |7| |March| |161| |A.D.||denarius|NEW
The "ship of state," famously expounded by Plato in the Republic, likens the governance of a state to the command of a vessel. The Romans believed that Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune, after deserting the Persians and Assyrians, saw Alexander perish as she flew over Syria and Egypt, and at last arriving on Mount Palatine, cast aside her wings to live in Rome forever. On this coin, Fortuna is depicting holding a rudder, for steering the Roman ship of state to prosperity, symbolized by the cornucopia.
RS114352. Silver denarius, RIC III 205, RSC II 267, BMCRE 768, cf. SRCV II 4073 (TR P XVI), VF, well centered, flow lines, edge splits and flan cracks, weight 3.126 g, maximum diameter 18.6 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, 151 - 152 A.D.; obverse ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XV, laureate head right; reverse COS IIII, Fortuna standing slightly right, head right, long rudder on globe in right hand, out-turned cornucopia in left hand; $140.00 SALE PRICE $126.00
 


Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Nicaea, Bithynia

|Bithynia|, |Antoninus| |Pius,| |August| |138| |-| |7| |March| |161| |A.D.,| |Nicaea,| |Bithynia||hemiassarion|
According to myth, Hermes and Dionysos were sons of Zeus, but Hermes' mother was the princess Semele and Dionysos' mother was the minor goddess Maia. To protect the infant Dionysos from his wife Hera, Zeus entrusted him to Hermes, who together with a band of nymphs, hid the child near Mt. Nysa in Anatolia.
RP111796. Bronze hemiassarion, RPC Online IV 5875 (3 spec.); Rec Gen 79; SNG Cop 480 corr. (obv. leg., M. Aurelius), aVF, dark and earthen patina, weight 4.044 g, maximum diameter 19.2 mm, die axis 180o, Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey) mint, obverse AVT KAICAP ANTΩNINOC, laureate head right; reverse NIKAIEΩN, Infant Dionysos seated right in cradle, extending both arms, thyrsus in cradle behind (not visible); Coin Archives records only one specimen of the type at auction in the last two decades; very rare; $135.00 SALE PRICE $122.00
 


Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Roman Egypt

|Roman| |Egypt|, |Antoninus| |Pius,| |August| |138| |-| |7| |March| |161| |A.D.,| |Roman| |Egypt||drachm|
"ALEXANDRIA (31°13'N, 29°55'E), was founded on the site of a fishing village at the mouth of the Nile in Egypt by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and after his death in 323 BC it was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty until Octavian seized it for Rome in 30 BC. Famous as an intellectual and trading center, it was the second largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of 500,000 at the time of Christ. It had long struck coins for Egyptian circulation, and briefly struck Imperial denarii (192-194) before Diocletian in 294 commenced normal imperial issues, continuing until 421 (and briefly under Leo I 457-474)." - from Moneta Historical Research by Tom Schroer
RX111023. Bronze drachm, RPC Online 13749/36 (this coin); Dattari-Savio 8855; Geissen 1672; SNG Milan 1299; BMC Alexandria p. 143, 1201; Emmett 1449, aVF, well centered, some corrosion/pitting, edge splits, obv. edge beveled, weight 27.079 g, maximum diameter 34.4 mm, die axis 0o, Alexandria mint, 151 - 152 A.D.; obverse AVT K T AIΛ AΔP ANTWNINOC CEB EVC, laureate bust right, with aegis on far shoulder; reverse Peristyle altar of Agathodaemon, with four columns and garlanded entablature, female figure sacrificing within, burning pyre and acroteria in form of aphlasta above; L in exergue, I-E (year 15) across fields; ex Naville Numismatics 40 (27 May 2018), lot 298; ex Roma Numismatics e-auction 41 (2 Dec 2017), lot 491; $125.00 SALE PRICE $113.00
 


Antoninus Pius, August 138 - 7 March 161 A.D., Nicaea, Bithynia

|Bithynia|, |Antoninus| |Pius,| |August| |138| |-| |7| |March| |161| |A.D.,| |Nicaea,| |Bithynia||AE| |17|
Nicaea remained an important town throughout the imperial period. Although only 70 km (43 miles) from Constantinople, Nicaea did not lose its importance when Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Empire. The city suffered from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of which, it was restored by Valens. During the Middle Ages, it was a long time bulwark of the Byzantine emperors against the Turks.
RP113281. Bronze AE 17, apparently unpublished variant; RIC IV.1 T5889 var. (obv. leg.); SNG Cop 474 (same); Rec Gén 95.2, pl. LXIX.2 (rev. only) (same), VF, rev. off centered, porosity, light marks, clay-rich sediments, weight 3.752 g, maximum diameter 19.5 mm, Nicaea (Iznik, Turkey) mint, 138 - 161 A.D.; obverse AVT KAIC ANTΩNINO-C, Bare head right; reverse NEIKA-IEΩN, Hygieia standing right, feeding serpent in her arms from patera in right hand; extremely rare; $110.00 SALE PRICE $99.00
 




  



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OBVERSE LEGENDS

ANTONINVSAVGPIVS
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSCOS
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPP
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPCOSIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPCOSIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPIMPII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRP
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXV
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXX
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPCOSII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPCOSIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPCOSIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXV
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXVIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXIX
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXX
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXI
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXIII
ANTONINVSAVGPIVSPPTRPXXIIII
ANTONINVSAVGPPTRIXX
ANTONINVSFXII
ANTONINVSFXVI
ANTONINVSFXVII
ANTONINVSFXXII
IMPANTONINVSAVGCOS
IMPANTONINVSAVGVSTVS
IMPCAESAELANTONINVSAVG
IMPCAESAELIVSANTONINVSAVG
IMPCAESTAELANTONINVSAVGPIVSPP
IMPCAESTAELHADRANTONINVSAVGPIVSPP
IMPCAESTAELHADRIANTONINVSAVGPIVS
IMPCAESTAELHADRIANTONINVSAVGPIVSPP
IMPTAELCAESANTONINVS
IMPTAELCAESANTONINVSAVG
IMPTAELCAESARHADRANTONINVS
IMPTAELCAESHADRANTONINVS
IMPTAELCAESHADRIANTONINVS
IMPTAELIVSCAESARANTONINVS


REFERENCES

Banti, A. & L. Simonetti. Corpus Nummorum Romanorum. (Florence, 1972-1979).
Calicó, E. The Roman Avrei, Vol. I: From the Republic to Pertinax, 196 BC - 193 AD. (Barcelona, 2003).
Cohen, H. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Vol. 2: Nerva to Antoninus Pius. (Paris, 1883).
Mattingly, H. & E. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. II: Vespasian to Hadrian. (London, 1926). (Caesar under Hadrian)
Mattingly, H. & E. Sydenham. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. (London, 1930).
Mattingly, H. & R. Carson. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. 4: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. (London, 1940).
Robinson, A. Roman Imperial Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet. II. Trajan to Commodus (London, 1971).
Seaby, H. & R. Loosley. Roman Silver Coins, Vol. II: Tiberius to Commodus. (London, 1979).
Sear, D. Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. II: The Accession of Nerva to the Overthrow of the Severan Dynasty AD 96 - AD 235. (London, 2002).
Strack, P. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit Antoninus Pius. (Stuttgart, 1937).
Toynbee, J. Roman medallions. ANSNS 5. (New York, 1944).
Vagi, D. Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. (Sidney, 1999).

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