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Author Topic: Antoninus Pius sestertius mystery  (Read 494 times)

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Offline SC

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Antoninus Pius sestertius mystery
« on: January 19, 2022, 05:53:16 pm »
I am not certain about my attribution of this sestertius.  I have spent quite some time going through RIC and BMC (and can't wait until the new Pius RIC volume comes out).

The obverse is ANTONINVS AVG PIVS - PP TR P COS IIII, Laureate head right.
I am not entirely certain from the coin whether it is COS III or COS IIII but based on the faint marks COS IIII seems more likely and I can't find anything under COS III that matches.

The reverse has a female figure standing left, with right arm raised and holding cornucopia (with tip turned outwards) in left arm.  None of the legend is visible other than the S-C in the field.  (The odd rectangular marks on the reverse are due to the fact that it had a modern price sticker - yikes! - on it when I bought it at a European coin fair around eight years ago.  The sticker residue clearly mucked it up a bit.  I have brushed it with DW, soapy DW and a silver-bristle brush but have not done anything stronger.)

Anyway, based on the position of the female's arms, and the obverse legend options, it appears to me to be LIBERALITAS AVG (RIC-776, BMC-1695).  Other left-facing female personifications from this period have their arms in different positions - usually lower.  However, I can't find any indication of the reversed (i.e. lower tip outwards) cornucopia on this or other issues with left facing female personifications around this time.

Any confirmation or other identification suggestions would be appreciated.

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(Shawn Caza, Ottawa)

Offline curtislclay

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Re: Antoninus Pius sestertius mystery
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2022, 07:14:41 pm »
Possibly COS III, MONETA AVG S C, BM 1255, their online picture below, their description in BMC fails to mention the cornucopia tip turned outwards. The same type also occurs with cornucopia turned inwards.

However on your coin the lady's slightly raised rather than horizontal right forearm perhaps speaks against her being Moneta.

As to the remains of the price sticker, do you mean the horizontal lines behind her head?
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Offline SC

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Re: Antoninus Pius sestertius mystery
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2022, 08:59:12 pm »
Yes, the arm on mine is raised a bit higher.  The only one I could find in that position is Libertas, though that does not leave much room for the counting board (pace RIC's "abacus") that she should be holding.

As for the sticker damage, you can see the lines going through her head, another at her feet/ground line and the faint vertical ones.  It doesn't seem to have affected the raised design much but the field under the sticker was darker than the field that was not covered.

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(Shawn Caza, Ottawa)

Online Ron C2

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Re: Antoninus Pius sestertius mystery
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2022, 09:26:23 pm »
As an aside, good gone or napthalene on a q tip would likey take off the remaining label residue and flash off before affecting the coin.
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