Acquisition number: 1987.03
Other images
Obv.: Bust of Antoninus, head bare, r. DIVVS ANTONINVS.
Rev.: Column of Antoninus Pius, on base surrounded by trellises, surmounted by statue of Antoninus holding sceptre in left hand and object in right. DIVO PIO.
Title: Denarius honouring Antoninus Pius, reign of Marcus Aurelius - 1987.03
Acquisition number: 1987.03
Culture or period: Roman Imperial
Date: AD 161
Material: Metal - Silver
Object type: Coins - Roman
Dimensions: 17mm (w)
Origin region or location: Italy
Origin city: Rome
Display case or on loan: 7
Keywords: Coin, denarius, Roman, Imperial, Antoninus Pius
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 5195; Seaby, H.A., Roman Silver Coins (London, B.A. Seaby, 1967) 353; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) M and L 69 pl. 54.17, St. M6; Mattingly, H., E.A. Sydenham, C.H. Sutherland, R.A. Carson, The Roman Imperial Coinage 13 vols (London, Spink, 1923-1994) M440.
1987.03
Denarius honouring Antoninus Pius, reign of Marcus Aurelius
3.09 g. AD 161
Obv.: Bust of Antoninus, head bare, r. DIVVS ANTONINVS.
Rev.: Column of Antoninus Pius, on base surrounded by trellises, surmounted by statue of Antoninus holding sceptre in left hand and object in right. DIVO PIO.
Antoninus Pius has the title DIVVS, ‘deified’, on both sides of the coin. He was deified on his death in AD 161, as was his wife Faustina the Elder on her death in 141 (cf. 1986.09).
The column of Antoninus, set up in the Campus Martius by his successors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, is no longer extant, so the coins are the major evidence for its appearance. The white marble base was excavated in the early 18th century and is now in the Vatican. Fragments show that the column was made of red granite. The base had a dedicatory inscription on one side (CIL 6. 1004) and reliefs on the three other sides.
The reliefs on the base (not obvious here) are of fine classicizing sculpture and honour both Antoninus and Faustina the Elder. See Diana Kleiner, Roman Sculpture (New Haven and London 1992) 285-8, for detailed description. The side recording their apotheosis probably faced towards the site of their cremation (cf. 2007.03). The column itself did not have the reliefs which characterised the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, who had military exploits to record.
Sear, D.R., Roman Coins and their Values 5 vols (London, Spink, 2000-2014) 5195; Seaby, H.A., Roman Silver Coins (London, B.A. Seaby, 1967) 353; Mattingly, H.,Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, 6 vols (London, 1965) M and L 69 pl. 54.17, St. M6; Mattingly, H., E.A. Sydenham, C.H. Sutherland, R.A. Carson, The Roman Imperial Coinage 13 vols (London, Spink, 1923-1994) M440.