Roman Coins in Reverse - a Chronological Gallery

[Al Kowsky]

6 hours ago, lrbguy said:

I hope it will not be taken amiss, but I have to split my post for Hadrian into two parts.  Part 1 will look at some interesting (I think) denarii for Hadrian (and an associate).  For part two I am planning a bit of a style show for his wife Sabina.  I will post that tomorrow a.m. 

 

Hadrian was elevated to the imperial throne in 117 AD and issued coins for his first two consulships.  All the coins I will show for Hadrian's imperial denarii are from the extensive coinage of his third consulship; i.e. the COS III coinage from 119-138 AD.  The many types can be clustered by the form of the obverse inscriptions. Here I merely sample a bit.

Hadrian  124-128
BMCRE 460    denarius of Rome   3.21g

Laureate, bust to r.
HADRIANVS     AVGVSTVS

Star in Crescent, globe below
left: COS (up)     right: III (down)

 

Hadrian  124-128
BMCRE 463    denarius of Rome      3.43g

Laureate, beardless bust to r.
HADRIANVS     AVGVSTVS

 7 stars in crescent
left: COS (up)     right: III

 

The proliferation of types at this next point in his reign Mattingly attributes to Hadrian's return to Rome following his extended tour of the empire.

Hadrian  134-138
BMCRE 621     denarius of Rome    3.67g

Laureate bust to r.
left: HADRIANVS (ascending)     right: AVG COSIII PP (descending)

Galley w/ Pilot under arch of stern, and rowers, headed to r
above: FELICITATI    below: AVGVSTI

The treatment of the obverse legends dates this coin to the period 134-138

 

The next two coins Mattingly classes as "Province types"

Hadrian  134-138
BMCRE 797    denarius of Rome    3.21g

Laureate bust to r.
left: HADRIANVS (ascending)     right: AVG COSIII PP (descending)

This beardless rendering (due to wear?) is an unusual portrait for Hadrian.

Aegyptos reclining, holds sistrum above in R hand, leans on basket with L arm; ibis stands at her feet at L,
above: AEGYPTOS

 

Hadrian  134-138
BMCRE 846     denarius of Rome    3.23g

Laureate bust to r.
left: HADRIANVS (ascending)     right: AVG COSIII PP (descending)

 

Hispania draped, reclining L, holding up olive branch in r hand; resting L arm on rock at her feet L a rabbit
above: HISPANIA

 

This next coin Mattingly classes as a "RESTITVTOR" type

Hadrian  134-138
BMCRE 883 reverse as 886 but obverse bust to r.    denarius of Rome    3.09g

Laureate bust to r.
left: HADRIANVS (ascending)     right: AVG COSIII PP (descending)

Hadrian bare headed,togate, standing left extending R hand to Hispania holding branch close on left. (no rabbit)
RESTITVTO - RI HI SPANI - AI

 

Succession

Lucius Ceionius Commodus was adopted by Hadrian in 136 as his heir apparent, and renamed Lucius Aelius Verus "Ceasar."  That same year, Hadrian ordered the deaths of two members of his extended houshold who would have been presumptive heirs.  Within two years, however, Lucius died of tuberculosis.  Lesson learned, within a month of that death, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as heir apparent, insisting however, that Antoninus must adopt two successors, one of whom was to be the son of Aelius, i.e. Lucius Verus. (Note the consulship numbering is that of Aelius.)

 

Lucius Aelius   137 AD
BMCRE  971  denarius of Rome   

bust r
ascending r: L. AELIVS          descending l: CAESAR

Fortuna Spes standing front, head L holding flower in R hand, cornucopiae rudder in L.
left: TRPO T (ascending)    right:COSII (descending)

 

While the inscriptions have the same content for this coin and the next, the devil is in the details.  More obvious are the differences in the central figure on the reverse. These are but two of the six different figures adorning the reverses of these rare coins.

 

Lucius Aelius   137 AD
BMCRE  972  denarius of Rome   

bust r.
L AELIVS        CAESAR

Pietas veiled, draped, standing L dropping incense from R hand over altar L and holding box? with lid raised in L
left: TRPOT (ascending)    right:COSII (descending)

 

 

 

The Aelius denarius steals the show 😍!

[ambr0zie]

This might not be entirely correct, but if, in general, you can find Hadrian reverses that are dynamic, artistic, symbolic, coins for Aelius are dull. Again, I might be wrong here as I haven't studied Aelius denarii in great detail, but when I see them I always think this was the dialogue in the mint on Friday evenings. Everybody preparing to go home. 

- Hey guys, one second please, we just received a special order - they want a new denarius type
- Ah maaaaaaan.... really?
- All cool, it's Aelius. Business as usual - add his portrait and put a random reverse with somebody standing, add a cornucopiae and an altar, if you are in the mood, a chair, put the same legend and that's it. 
- Ok, Cornelius, Gnaeus, let's do it fast so we could catch the gladiator fights. We still have 45 minutes left. Last time we did Pietas with altar, now do a Felicitas with cornucopiae. Use the same drawing, nobody cares. 

Aelius, as Caesar AD 136-138. Rome. Denarius AR. 18 mm, 2,80 g
L AELIVS CAESAR, head of Lucius Aelius Caesar, right / TR POT COS II, Salus standing left, holding patera and sceptre; to left, altar with snake coiled around
RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 2645; Old RIC II Hadrian 434; BMCRE 977 (Hadrian); RSC 54.

 

[John Conduitt]

It's been a while since I've had a reverse of note to post.

Hadrian As, 119

Rome. Bronze, 10.00g. Laureate bust right; IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG. Britannia seated facing, holding sceptre, large shield to right; PONT MAX T R POT COS III; S C; BRITANNIA in exergue (RIC II.3, 241).

[Limes]

Lovely Hadrians! My most interesting reverse is yet to arrive from Switzerland. But for now, I will post this one. Most of my coins of Hadrian are travel issues, but I found this reverse to be quite interesting and appealing as well. 

[idesofmarch01]

Hadrian's Travel Series reverses convinced me to extend my collecting interests outside of the 12 Caesars.  Artistically, almost all of Hadrian's portraits seem to be at least very good, and the history documented in his travel series is for me the most interesting of any individual emperor.

Rather than posting each coin individually, I've assembled a many-times-shown-previously virtual tray:

 

[lrbguy]

1 hour ago, ambr0zie said:

This might not be entirely correct, but
- All cool, it's Aelius. Business as usual - add his portrait and put a random reverse with somebody standing, add a cornucopiae and an altar, if you are in the mood, a chair, put the same legend and that's it. 
- Ok, Cornelius, Gnaeus, let's do it fast so we could catch the gladiator fights. We still have 45 minutes left. Last time we did Pietas with altar, now do a Felicitas with cornucopiae. Use the same drawing, nobody cares. 

 

I think you've done a pretty good job of depicting the typical attitude of the non-collecting post-modern public toward the coins we study. 

That said, it's probably best if we let the non-collectors see them their way, and we see them as collectors and students of the material.  So when we see that they had five or six different deities being honored on what are essentially the same reverse types, it seems best to turn off the intuition and turn on our analytical thinking skills to figure out what it all means.

What is the message sent by the choice of the half dozen deities appearing on these coins to have been selected out of the dozens of candidates to be used in this way?  How might it have been different if they had known going in that the honoree would be dead within two years (he had tuberculosis)?  Given that Hadrian had made human sacrifices from among his family to keep this appointee, could those choices have had something to do with stabilizing the public perception of the Imperial high office?  What is your numismatic assessment?

In matters of science intuition raises questions, but linear thinking pursues answers.

[ambr0zie]

Dear @lrbguy, you might be right, but 1. that was a joke. If this forum does not approve jokes, then I am in error since I joined it. Are all my posts jokes? I doubt it. I don't think I ever mocked a coin or I was superficial in this hobby. The modest Aelius denarius is mine btw.

2. I think I study ancient coins with the same respect and devotion as most of the forum colleagues here. And I am not here for joking or trolling. 

3. I do not like being patronized. This is a topic about reverses. I cannot say that coins having Aelius portraits are very interesting when it comes to reverses. The reason is clear. If a coin is not interesting when it comes to artistry/symbolistics, does it make it an uncollectable coin? Should we ignore Aelius as a historical figure? SURELY NOT. But one cannot say that Aelius was a key figure in Roman history or Roman coinage. 

That being said, let's leave the topic follow its course. If you want to test my knowledge, this is not the place. 

[lrbguy]

As mentioned above, for part two I want to devote some attention to Sabina, the faithful wife of Hadrian, who predeceased him by about 2-3 years.  He honored her memory in coinage.  In view of the major changes in hair style observed for her, I thought it would be nice to show something of the variation on the two common themes. 

Vibia Sabina was the daughter of Matidia (Trajan's niece, see earlier post) and by the interest and efforts of Plotina was arranged to marry Hadrian, the adopted son of Trajan.  She never bore children with Hadrian, and by most accounts their marriage was a strong but not particularly happy one.  Nonetheless, she remained married to Hadrian until her death about a year or so before that of Hadrian himself, and he arranged for her to be honored posthumously in the coinage among other things.

Images from life:

BMCRE  895   Group III (by obverse inscription)    2.91g

Sabina draped, right facing bust, plait of hair behind, wearing wreath band with corn ears front.
SABINA AVGVSTA - HADRIANI AVG PP

Concordia, draped, seated L on throne (cornucopiae below),  holding patera in extended R hand, resting L arm on statuette of Spes set on low base
CONCOR - DIA AVG

(The blue "accretion" in the left side lettering is an optical effect I had not noticed in the shooting. There is no physical substance there. The coin shows a lot of iridescent toning overall, but that is a story for another time.)

 

 

BMCRE902   design same as preceding but obverse bust faces left.    3.20g

Sabina draped, left facing bust, plait of hair behind, wearing wreath band without corn ears front.
SABINA AVGVS - TA. HADRIANI AVG [P]P

Concordia, draped, beaded headpiece, seated L on throne (cornucopiae below), holding patera in extended R hand, resting L arm on statuette of Spes set on low base
CONCOR - DIA AVG

 

 

Sabina  bust type "c"
BMCRE 914  denarius of Rome (BMC Group III)       3.16g

bust type "c": right facing bust of Sabina draped, no plait, hair coiled in braids and piled on top of head above triple stephane.  (ala Matidia)
SABINA AVGVSTA - HADRIANI AVG[P.P.]

Vesta seated to L on throne, holding palladium in R hand, and scepter in L;  four humanoid figures below seat of throne.
In exergue:  S C

 

 

Sabina  bust type "e"
BMCRE  929*   GROUP IV       3.21g

bust type "e": left facing bust of Sabina draped, no plait, hair coiled and piled on top of head above triple stephane.  
SABINA    AVGVST[A]

Concordia , draped, standing L, holding patera in extended r. hand and double cornucopia in L.  [Missing column.]
CONCO[R DI]A AVG

*The obverse type on this coin is an unlisted variant, consisting of a left facing bust mentioned in the BMCRE footnotes for this type (p. 358). As a variant, the missing final letter in the obverse inscription is uncertain.

 

Posthumous DIVA issues

Sabina (posthumous)  138-139?
BMCRE  961      3.45g

Sabina veiled, draped, to r.; plait of hair (with a knob) behind, wearing wreath of corn ears.
DIVA.AVG    SABINA

Two double section doors on altar.
PIE (left)  TATI (right)   below: AVG

Struck after her death.

 

 

Sabina (posthumous)  138-139?
BMCRE  962        3.07g

Sabina veiled, draped, plait of hair behind (no knob), wearing wreath of corn ears.
DIVA.AVG    SABINA

Two single section doors on altar.
PIE (left)  TATI (right)   below: AVG

Struck after her death.

 

 

Sabina (posthumous)  138-139?
BMCRE  963   

Sabina, draped r., no plait behind, instead hair coiled and piled on top above stephane (ala Matidia)  
DIVA AVG    SABINA

Two double section doors on altar.
PIE (left)  TATI (right)   below: AVG

Struck after her death.

[shanxi]

Two more unusual reverse:

Hadrian
Pergamon, Mysia
Magistrate Cl. Cephaliôn
AE 16, AD 118
Obv.: ΑΥ ΚΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟ, laureate head of Hadrian, with drapery on left shoulder
Rev.: [ΠΕΡΓΑ С]ΤΡΑ ΚΛ ΚΕΦΑΛΙΩ(ΝΟ), ΤΟ Β, Telesphorus standing facing
AE, 2.66g, 16mm
Ref.: RPC III 1734 (same reverse die)

 

Hadrian
Tetradrachm, Egypt, Alexandria
Obv.: AVT KAI TPAI AΔPIA CEB, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., seen from behind
Rev.: Hadrian standing leftz, holding sceptre and clasping hands with Alexandria holding vexillum, L - IE (year 15=130/131)
Billon, 13.22g, 23.5mm
Geißen 1026 ff., Dattari 1267 ff.

[Al Kowsky]

20 hours ago, idesofmarch01 said:

Hadrian's Travel Series reverses convinced me to extend my collecting interests outside of the 12 Caesars.  Artistically, almost all of Hadrian's portraits seem to be at least very good, and the history documented in his travel series is for me the most interesting of any individual emperor.

Rather than posting each coin individually, I've assembled a many-times-shown-previously virtual tray:

 

What a fabulous group of coins & beautiful presentation 🤩! The African sestertius is my favorite 😍.

[lrbguy]

1 hour ago, Al Kowsky said:

What a fabulous group of coins & beautiful presentation 🤩!

I second that!!!

[shanxi]

Antoninus Pius,

with a big temple (too big for the coin) , a beautiful Tyche with skyscrapers on her head and a very strange Hercules with very thin legs.🙂

 

Antoninus Pius
Kilikia, Tarsus
Ae32
Obv.: laureate bust right, wearing cuirass and paludamentum,
[.... ]Σ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟΣ ΣΕ
Rev.: ΚΟΙΝΟΣ ΚΙΛΙΚΙΑΣ on architrave, [ΑΔΡΙΑΝΩΝ ΤΑΡ]ΣΕΩΝ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛ[ΕΩΣ], temple with ten columns, eagle in pediment
Ae, 22.7g, 32mm
Ref.: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale 1232

 

Antoninus Pius
Syria, Laodicea ad Mare
AE25
Obv.: ΑΥΤΟ ΚΑ ΤΙ ΑΙ ΑΔΡΙ ΑΝΤωΝƐΙΝΟС СƐΒ, laureate-headed bust of Antoninus Pius wearing cuirass and paludamentum, right
Rev.: ΙΟΥΛΙƐωΝ ΤωΝ ΚΑΙ ΛΑΟΔΙΚƐωΝ ΘƐΟ ΗΠΡ, turreted and draped bust of Tyche wearing bunch of grapes, left
AE, 9.73g, 25mm
Ref.: RPC IV online 6265 temp.; SNG Copenhagen 350; BMC 61

 

Antoninus Pius
Thrace, Topirus
Obv.: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙΝΟC, laureate head right, countermark on neck
Rev.: ΕΠΙ ΦΑΒ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΕΙΝΟΥ ΤΟΠΕΙΡΕΙΤΩΝ, Hercules seated left on rock draped with lion skin
AE, 6.17g, 23.05mm
Ref.: Varbanov III 2668

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by shanxi

[CPK]

Another favorite which I've not posted here before. I like collecting Roman coins with African animals and this elephant is one of the finest I've seen.

[DonnaML]

I will post more coins of Antoninus Pius later today or tomorrow -- I don't have nearly as many to contribute as I did for Hadrian, even including coins with Faustina I, as well as with his daughter Faustina II dating to his reign and with Marcus Aurelius Caesar -- but will begin now with what will be my only remaining aureus after the sale of my Vespasian specimen (I purchased both from the same dealer), and happens to have one of my favorite reverses of any Roman coin. Even though it's not in outstanding condition, I still find it very appealing.

Warning - lengthy footnote ahead.

Antoninus Pius AV aureus, AD 150-151 [see fn], Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ANTONINVS AVG – PIUS P P TR P XIIII / Rev. On left, Ceres [possibly representing Faustina II] standing three-quarters facing, head right, holding two grain ears in right hand; on right, Proserpina standing facing, head left, next to her mother, holding pomegranate in extended left hand, the two gazing at and embracing each other [possibly celebrating birth of Lucilla in AD 151, and, as a result, the restoration of a granddaughter to the Imperial family; hence the reverse inscription naming Laetitia, the personification of joy; see fn.], LAETITIA – COS IIII.  19 mm., 6.89 g., 6 h. RIC III 199c [“Scarce”] (see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.199C ); Cohen 476; Sear RCV II 4008; BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 725 & Pl. 15 No. 14; Strack 224 [Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit Antoninus Pius (Stuttgart, 1937)]; Calicó 1556 [Calicó, E. Xavier, The Roman Avrei, Vol. I: From the Republic to Pertinax, 196 BC - 193 AD (Barcelona, 2003)]; Dinsdale 037180 [Dinsdale, Paul H, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161: Antonine Coinage (2nd Rev. ed., Leeds 2021) Ch. 18 at p. 421; photo at same page, indicating a probable obverse die match to my specimen] [see http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Antoninus/old/18 - Antoninus Pius - TR POT XIIII Period - 150-151 (med_res).pdf.]* Purchased from Arete Coins [George Matev], Seattle, WA, Feb. 2022; ex Classical Numismatic Group [CNG] E-Auction 360, Sep. 30, 2015, Lot 458 (from “Group SGF” Collection); ex Jesús Vico, S.A., Auction 141, Mar. 5, 2015, Lot 121.**

*My example also appears to be an obverse die match to the specimen at the Münzkabinett Berlin; see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.199C and photo of obverse at https://ikmk.smb.museum/image/18273198/vs_exp.jpg.
 
**This type (with its minor variations in the obverse portrait [see RIC 199a-b, Dinsdale 037150, 037160, 037170] as well as in the placement of “COS IIII” in the reverse exergue in some dies [see Dinsdale 037200]), is one of only two representations of Proserpina, with or without her mother Ceres, on Roman Imperial coinage. (The only other such representation is on the reverse of an antoninianus of Claudius II Gothicus, depicting the pair facing each other, each holding a long-handled torch; see MER-RIC V.1 No. 1072 [temp.], at https://ric.mom.fr/en/coin/1072?from=map&Mint=Antioch&mod=result&page=7&hpp=10.).

All attempts to date this issue have necessarily been based on the TR P XIIII in the obverse inscription, signifying the 14th annual renewal of Antoninus Pius’s tribunician power [“Tribunicia Potestas”]. (The “COS IIII” on the reverse is of no assistance, since Antoninus held the consulship for the fourth time in AD 145, and never held a fifth.) See the explanation at Sear RCV II p. 72 of the significance of renewals of tribunician power in dating Roman Imperial coins:

“As the emperor [Augustus] wished the tribunician power to be regarded as the basis for his authority it was natural that he should introduce the custom of reckoning the years of his reign by the date of its symbolic annual renewal. The precedent having thus been instituted, this became the normal practice of Augustus’ successors and the number of annual renewals of the tribunican power, appearing regularly in the inscriptions on the coinage, provide valuable evidence in establishing the numismatic chronology of each reign.”

According to the traditional chronology, Antoninus Pius’s 13th renewal of the tribunician power (TR P XIII) ran from 149-150, and his 14th  year (TR P XIIII) from 150-151, meaning that this aureus must have been issued in either 150 or 151. See the table of TR POT years for Antoninus Pius at Sear RCV II pp. 76-77.  More specifically: “The method employed for selecting the actual date of this annual renewal seems to have varied from reign to reign. Some emperors used the day of its initial conferment (June 27 in the case of Augustus), whilst others preferred the traditional Republican date for the appointment of the tribunes (December 10th). Yet another practice was to renew on January 1st, thus making the tribunician year coincide with the calendar year.” Id. p. 72.

In the case of Antoninus Pius’s tribunician day, according to @curtislclay, “we know it was 10 Dec. by the end of his reign in 161, and that day has been assumed to go back to at least 147, when Marcus was voted that same power.” (See his Aug. 19, 2014 post on the Forvm discussion board, at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601699#msg601699.)  Using that date, Antoninus’s 14th tribunician year ran from Dec. 10, AD 150 to Dec. 10, AD 151, and this aureus must have been issued during that period. See, e.g., Dinsdale, supra, Ch. 18 at p. 421, listing the aurei of Antoninus Pius’s “TR POT XIII Period, Dec. 150 – Dec. 151,” including this aureus (Dinsdale 037180).

However, in a post on Forvm Ancient Coins dated Aug. 22, 2014 (see https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601994#msg601994), as well as in a more recent post at Coin Talk on Nov. 22, 2020 (see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/questions-about-new-faustina-ii-denarius.370212/page-2#post-5143304), @curtislclay has proposed that at the time of Antoninus Pius’s 13th-15th tribunician years, his tribunician day was instead the anniversary of Hadrian’s original conferral of tribunician power on Antoninus Pius when he adopted him and the Senate proclaimed him Caesar in AD 138, namely Feb. 25. See Aug. 22, 2014 post, supra (Antoninus’s tribunician day during this period was not Dec. 10 but “25 February, when Hadrian had adopted Antoninus”); Nov. 22, 2020 post, supra (“Perhaps Antoninus' tribunician day was . . . when his tribunician assembly met, 25 Feb. having been the day when Hadrian adopted him and the Senate proclaimed him Caesar”). Thus, Antoninus Pius’s 14th tribunician year would have run not from 25 Dec. 150 – 25 Dec. 151, but began and ended a few months later, running from 25 Feb. 151 to 25 Feb. 152, meaning that this coin was minted during that period.    

In both comments, @curtislclay used this chronological discussion (and a parallel discussion of the dates of Marcus Aurelius’s tribunician years as Caesar, omitted here) to propose that the reverse of this aureus, depicting Ceres and Proserpina together with the legend LAETITIA (Joy), actually celebrates the birth of Lucilla to Faustina II on 7 March, 151 – after she and Marcus Aurelius had been childless for  a period of time, because their first two children, a girl born in 147 and a son born in 148-49, depicted together on a coin with crossed cornucopiae, had both died by March 149. See Aug 22, 2014 post, supra:   

“I think we can say with fair certainty that Lucilla was born on 7 March 151 not 152.

In the first place, Lucilla can hardly have been born on 7 March 152, since the Ostian Fasti record that in that same year Faustina also gave birth to a son, who however apparently immediately died; see text and discussion in Strack, pp. 117-8. But after 7 March 152 only nine months and three weeks remained before the end of 152, a very short time indeed in which to produce another child! Of course we should not exclude a premature birth, which might fit with the immediate death of the baby, but still it seems unlikely. Unfortunately the exact date of the baby's birth and death is lost from the fragmentary Fasti, but these events are recorded more towards the beginning than the end of the 15 lines of text devoted to the year 152.

Secondly, dating Lucilla's birth to 7 March 151 allows a rather attractive interpretation of the LAETITIA COS IIII type on Antoninus' aurei, showing Ceres embracing her daughter Proserpina (image below), which was apparently produced at exactly this time. The type belongs to the beginning of Antoninus' 14th tribunician year, which I think began on 25 Feb. 151, because though most of the surviving specimens are dated TR P XIIII, one has the numeral of the preceding year, TR P XIII. The type shows Ceres welcoming her daughter back from the underworld, a fitting analogy, it would seem, for Faustina II giving birth to another daughter, after the tragic deaths of her first daughter and son at very young ages!

The course of events, then, might have been:

On 25 Feb. 151 Antoninus began his 14th tribunician year; Marcus, still being childless, had renounced that power so continued calling himself TR P III. On 7 March 151 Faustina gave birth to Lucilla, an event which was commemorated by the LAETITIA type, mostly struck from TR P XIIII obv. dies, but also, erroneously, from one TR P XIII die which had remained in use in the new tribunician year.” [Discussion of Marcus’s resumption of tribunician power in 152, as TR P VI, omitted.] (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601994#msg601994; emphasis added.)

See also Curtis’s discussion in his 2020 Coin Talk post, at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/questions-about-new-faustina-ii-denarius.370212/page-2#post-5143304:

“If I am correct about Marcus' temporary resignation from his tribunician power in 150-151 AD, then the birth dates of his first three children are likely to have been as follows:

1. A daughter, born 30 Nov. 147, resulting in the titles Augusta for Faustina and TR P for Marcus, as recorded in the Ostian Fasti.

2. A son, born between c. Sept. 148 (nine months after Faustina's first childbirth) and March 149, commemorated on the crossed cornucopias coins of Antoninus Pius as TR P XII. The children on the two cornucopias in this type are traditionally assumed to have been male twins, but there is no reason why the type should not commemorate the birth of a single son to join the earlier daughter, and on a couple of dies the portraits seem to be differentiated, with the daughter on the right having longer hair with a small bun (cf. Strack, pl. XIII, 1026). Both of these children had died, however, before March 149, for by that time Marcus was no longer numbering his TR P. 

3. Lucilla, born 7 March 151, apparently commemorated by the LAETITIA COS IIII type (Ceres and Proserpina) on aurei of Antoninus as TR P XIIII. A longed-for daughter had now been restored to Faustina too, so the type seems appropriate." (Emphasis added.)

Thus, just as Proserpina was restored to Ceres at the conclusion of that myth (even if only for six months of the year, after consuming six pomegranate seeds!), the birth of Lucilla restored a daughter and granddaughter to the Imperial family. 
 
The one issue with identifying the Ceres and Proserpina depiction with a celebration of Lucilla’s birth is that obviously, if the Ceres & Proserpina design did actually originate not with Antoninus Pius’s 14th tribunician year but with his 13th tribunician year -- which ended either in Dec. 150 or February 151 regardless of whether one accepts @curtislclay’s theory -- both those dates preceded the birth of Lucilla on March 7, 151, and the design could not have been originally intended to celebrate her birth. Curtis concedes the existence of one specimen bearing the TR P XIII date, from one die, but given that extreme rarity, argues that its production must have been “erroneous[], from one TR P XIII die which had remained in use in the new tribunician year.” What I believe must be the one example he cites of the type with a TR P XIII legend, held by the British Museum since 1864, can be found at:

https://media.britishmuseum.org/media/Repository/Documents/2014_10/11_14/ef80efed_046e_4223_9331_a3c100ecd091/mid_00658499_001.jpg

(This type has been cataloged as RIC III 190 [citing British Museum example]; BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 714 & Pl. 15 No. 7 [see also https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1864-1128-70]; Dinsdale Ch. 16 036130 at p. 414 [illustrated with British Museum example]; Strack III 215, and Calicó 1555.) 

At least one other specimen of the type exists, sold by LHS Numismatick AG, Auction 95, Lot 813, on 25 Oct. 2005. See photo at https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=261692. However, this second specimen appears to me to be a double die match to the British Museum specimen, which would mean that it’s still true that only a single die of this type is known. Therefore, I don’t think the existence of the second specimen materially detracts from the plausibility of @curtislclay's theory, and I’m still comfortable adopting his theory that the depiction of Ceres and Proserpina on the reverse of this aureus – one of only two such numismatic depictions during the Roman Empire – symbolizes the joy of the Imperial family in the birth of Lucilla. Particularly given the frequent designs on other coins (issued both by Faustina II herself and by her grandfather Antoninus Pius), symbolically depicting Faustina II and her various children.

Finally, it should be noted that @curtislclay was not the first or only scholar to identify Ceres and Proserpina as depicted on the aurei of Antoninus Pius with Faustina II and Lucilla. Paul L. Strack, writing in 1937, also appears to have made that identification. See Dinsdale, supra p. 414 n. 1, citing Strack 215. 

 

[Al Kowsky]

16 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

I will post more coins of Antoninus Pius later today or tomorrow -- I don't have nearly as many to contribute as I did for Hadrian, even including coins with Faustina I, as well as with his daughter Faustina II dating to his reign and with Marcus Aurelius Caesar -- but will begin now with what will be my only remaining aureus after the sale of my Vespasian specimen (I purchased both from the same dealer), and happens to have one of my favorite reverses of any Roman coin. Even though it's not in outstanding condition, I still find it very appealing.

Warning - lengthy footnote ahead.

Antoninus Pius AV aureus, AD 150-151 [see fn], Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ANTONINVS AVG – PIUS P P TR P XIIII / Rev. On left, Ceres [possibly representing Faustina II] standing three-quarters facing, head right, holding two grain ears in right hand; on right, Proserpina standing facing, head left, next to her mother, holding pomegranate in extended left hand, the two gazing at and embracing each other [possibly celebrating birth of Lucilla in AD 151, and, as a result, the restoration of a granddaughter to the Imperial family; hence the reverse inscription naming Laetitia, the personification of joy; see fn.], LAETITIA – COS IIII.  19 mm., 6.89 g., 6 h. RIC III 199c [“Scarce”] (see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.199C ); Cohen 476; Sear RCV II 4008; BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 725 & Pl. 15 No. 14; Strack 224 [Strack, Paul L., Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit Antoninus Pius (Stuttgart, 1937)]; Calicó 1556 [Calicó, E. Xavier, The Roman Avrei, Vol. I: From the Republic to Pertinax, 196 BC - 193 AD (Barcelona, 2003)]; Dinsdale 037180 [Dinsdale, Paul H, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Caesar AD 138-161: Antonine Coinage (2nd Rev. ed., Leeds 2021) Ch. 18 at p. 421; photo at same page, indicating a probable obverse die match to my specimen] [see http://romanpaulus.x10host.com/Antoninus/old/18 - Antoninus Pius - TR POT XIIII Period - 150-151 (med_res).pdf.]* Purchased from Arete Coins [George Matev], Seattle, WA, Feb. 2022; ex Classical Numismatic Group [CNG] E-Auction 360, Sep. 30, 2015, Lot 458 (from “Group SGF” Collection); ex Jesús Vico, S.A., Auction 141, Mar. 5, 2015, Lot 121.**

*My example also appears to be an obverse die match to the specimen at the Münzkabinett Berlin; see http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.ant.199C and photo of obverse at https://ikmk.smb.museum/image/18273198/vs_exp.jpg.
 
**This type (with its minor variations in the obverse portrait [see RIC 199a-b, Dinsdale 037150, 037160, 037170] as well as in the placement of “COS IIII” in the reverse exergue in some dies [see Dinsdale 037200]), is one of only two representations of Proserpina, with or without her mother Ceres, on Roman Imperial coinage. (The only other such representation is on the reverse of an antoninianus of Claudius II Gothicus, depicting the pair facing each other, each holding a long-handled torch; see MER-RIC V.1 No. 1072 [temp.], at https://ric.mom.fr/en/coin/1072?from=map&Mint=Antioch&mod=result&page=7&hpp=10.).

All attempts to date this issue have necessarily been based on the TR P XIIII in the obverse inscription, signifying the 14th annual renewal of Antoninus Pius’s tribunician power [“Tribunicia Potestas”]. (The “COS IIII” on the reverse is of no assistance, since Antoninus held the consulship for the fourth time in AD 145, and never held a fifth.) See the explanation at Sear RCV II p. 72 of the significance of renewals of tribunician power in dating Roman Imperial coins:

“As the emperor [Augustus] wished the tribunician power to be regarded as the basis for his authority it was natural that he should introduce the custom of reckoning the years of his reign by the date of its symbolic annual renewal. The precedent having thus been instituted, this became the normal practice of Augustus’ successors and the number of annual renewals of the tribunican power, appearing regularly in the inscriptions on the coinage, provide valuable evidence in establishing the numismatic chronology of each reign.”

According to the traditional chronology, Antoninus Pius’s 13th renewal of the tribunician power (TR P XIII) ran from 149-150, and his 14th  year (TR P XIIII) from 150-151, meaning that this aureus must have been issued in either 150 or 151. See the table of TR POT years for Antoninus Pius at Sear RCV II pp. 76-77.  More specifically: “The method employed for selecting the actual date of this annual renewal seems to have varied from reign to reign. Some emperors used the day of its initial conferment (June 27 in the case of Augustus), whilst others preferred the traditional Republican date for the appointment of the tribunes (December 10th). Yet another practice was to renew on January 1st, thus making the tribunician year coincide with the calendar year.” Id. p. 72.

In the case of Antoninus Pius’s tribunician day, according to @curtislclay, “we know it was 10 Dec. by the end of his reign in 161, and that day has been assumed to go back to at least 147, when Marcus was voted that same power.” (See his Aug. 19, 2014 post on the Forvm discussion board, at https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601699#msg601699.)  Using that date, Antoninus’s 14th tribunician year ran from Dec. 10, AD 150 to Dec. 10, AD 151, and this aureus must have been issued during that period. See, e.g., Dinsdale, supra, Ch. 18 at p. 421, listing the aurei of Antoninus Pius’s “TR POT XIII Period, Dec. 150 – Dec. 151,” including this aureus (Dinsdale 037180).

However, in a post on Forvm Ancient Coins dated Aug. 22, 2014 (see https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601994#msg601994), as well as in a more recent post at Coin Talk on Nov. 22, 2020 (see https://www.cointalk.com/threads/questions-about-new-faustina-ii-denarius.370212/page-2#post-5143304), @curtislclay has proposed that at the time of Antoninus Pius’s 13th-15th tribunician years, his tribunician day was instead the anniversary of Hadrian’s original conferral of tribunician power on Antoninus Pius when he adopted him and the Senate proclaimed him Caesar in AD 138, namely Feb. 25. See Aug. 22, 2014 post, supra (Antoninus’s tribunician day during this period was not Dec. 10 but “25 February, when Hadrian had adopted Antoninus”); Nov. 22, 2020 post, supra (“Perhaps Antoninus' tribunician day was . . . when his tribunician assembly met, 25 Feb. having been the day when Hadrian adopted him and the Senate proclaimed him Caesar”). Thus, Antoninus Pius’s 14th tribunician year would have run not from 25 Dec. 150 – 25 Dec. 151, but began and ended a few months later, running from 25 Feb. 151 to 25 Feb. 152, meaning that this coin was minted during that period.    

In both comments, @curtislclay used this chronological discussion (and a parallel discussion of the dates of Marcus Aurelius’s tribunician years as Caesar, omitted here) to propose that the reverse of this aureus, depicting Ceres and Proserpina together with the legend LAETITIA (Joy), actually celebrates the birth of Lucilla to Faustina II on 7 March, 151 – after she and Marcus Aurelius had been childless for  a period of time, because their first two children, a girl born in 147 and a son born in 148-49, depicted together on a coin with crossed cornucopiae, had both died by March 149. See Aug 22, 2014 post, supra:   

“I think we can say with fair certainty that Lucilla was born on 7 March 151 not 152.

In the first place, Lucilla can hardly have been born on 7 March 152, since the Ostian Fasti record that in that same year Faustina also gave birth to a son, who however apparently immediately died; see text and discussion in Strack, pp. 117-8. But after 7 March 152 only nine months and three weeks remained before the end of 152, a very short time indeed in which to produce another child! Of course we should not exclude a premature birth, which might fit with the immediate death of the baby, but still it seems unlikely. Unfortunately the exact date of the baby's birth and death is lost from the fragmentary Fasti, but these events are recorded more towards the beginning than the end of the 15 lines of text devoted to the year 152.

Secondly, dating Lucilla's birth to 7 March 151 allows a rather attractive interpretation of the LAETITIA COS IIII type on Antoninus' aurei, showing Ceres embracing her daughter Proserpina (image below), which was apparently produced at exactly this time. The type belongs to the beginning of Antoninus' 14th tribunician year, which I think began on 25 Feb. 151, because though most of the surviving specimens are dated TR P XIIII, one has the numeral of the preceding year, TR P XIII. The type shows Ceres welcoming her daughter back from the underworld, a fitting analogy, it would seem, for Faustina II giving birth to another daughter, after the tragic deaths of her first daughter and son at very young ages!

The course of events, then, might have been:

On 25 Feb. 151 Antoninus began his 14th tribunician year; Marcus, still being childless, had renounced that power so continued calling himself TR P III. On 7 March 151 Faustina gave birth to Lucilla, an event which was commemorated by the LAETITIA type, mostly struck from TR P XIIII obv. dies, but also, erroneously, from one TR P XIII die which had remained in use in the new tribunician year.” [Discussion of Marcus’s resumption of tribunician power in 152, as TR P VI, omitted.] (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97313.msg601994#msg601994; emphasis added.)

See also Curtis’s discussion in his 2020 Coin Talk post, at https://www.cointalk.com/threads/questions-about-new-faustina-ii-denarius.370212/page-2#post-5143304:

“If I am correct about Marcus' temporary resignation from his tribunician power in 150-151 AD, then the birth dates of his first three children are likely to have been as follows:

1. A daughter, born 30 Nov. 147, resulting in the titles Augusta for Faustina and TR P for Marcus, as recorded in the Ostian Fasti.

2. A son, born between c. Sept. 148 (nine months after Faustina's first childbirth) and March 149, commemorated on the crossed cornucopias coins of Antoninus Pius as TR P XII. The children on the two cornucopias in this type are traditionally assumed to have been male twins, but there is no reason why the type should not commemorate the birth of a single son to join the earlier daughter, and on a couple of dies the portraits seem to be differentiated, with the daughter on the right having longer hair with a small bun (cf. Strack, pl. XIII, 1026). Both of these children had died, however, before March 149, for by that time Marcus was no longer numbering his TR P. 

3. Lucilla, born 7 March 151, apparently commemorated by the LAETITIA COS IIII type (Ceres and Proserpina) on aurei of Antoninus as TR P XIIII. A longed-for daughter had now been restored to Faustina too, so the type seems appropriate." (Emphasis added.)

Thus, just as Proserpina was restored to Ceres at the conclusion of that myth (even if only for six months of the year, after consuming six pomegranate seeds!), the birth of Lucilla restored a daughter and granddaughter to the Imperial family. 
 
The one issue with identifying the Ceres and Proserpina depiction with a celebration of Lucilla’s birth is that obviously, if the Ceres & Proserpina design did actually originate not with Antoninus Pius’s 14th tribunician year but with his 13th tribunician year -- which ended either in Dec. 150 or February 151 regardless of whether one accepts @curtislclay’s theory -- both those dates preceded the birth of Lucilla on March 7, 151, and the design could not have been originally intended to celebrate her birth. Curtis concedes the existence of one specimen bearing the TR P XIII date, from one die, but given that extreme rarity, argues that its production must have been “erroneous[], from one TR P XIII die which had remained in use in the new tribunician year.” What I believe must be the one example he cites of the type with a TR P XIII legend, held by the British Museum since 1864, can be found at:

https://media.britishmuseum.org/media/Repository/Documents/2014_10/11_14/ef80efed_046e_4223_9331_a3c100ecd091/mid_00658499_001.jpg

(This type has been cataloged as RIC III 190 [citing British Museum example]; BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 714 & Pl. 15 No. 7 [see also https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1864-1128-70]; Dinsdale Ch. 16 036130 at p. 414 [illustrated with British Museum example]; Strack III 215, and Calicó 1555.) 

At least one other specimen of the type exists, sold by LHS Numismatick AG, Auction 95, Lot 813, on 25 Oct. 2005. See photo at https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=261692. However, this second specimen appears to me to be a double die match to the British Museum specimen, which would mean that it’s still true that only a single die of this type is known. Therefore, I don’t think the existence of the second specimen materially detracts from the plausibility of @curtislclay's theory, and I’m still comfortable adopting his theory that the depiction of Ceres and Proserpina on the reverse of this aureus – one of only two such numismatic depictions during the Roman Empire – symbolizes the joy of the Imperial family in the birth of Lucilla. Particularly given the frequent designs on other coins (issued both by Faustina II herself and by her grandfather Antoninus Pius), symbolically depicting Faustina II and her various children.

Finally, it should be noted that @curtislclay was not the first or only scholar to identify Ceres and Proserpina as depicted on the aurei of Antoninus Pius with Faustina II and Lucilla. Paul L. Strack, writing in 1937, also appears to have made that identification. See Dinsdale, supra p. 414 n. 1, citing Strack 215. 

 

Handsome coin & impressive writeup ☺️.

[Al Kowsky]

JUDAEA, Gaza. Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161 (dated CY 215, AD 154/5). AE: 30.5 mm, 20.23 gm, 12 h. Obverse: Laureate, draped, & cuirassed bust seen from behind. Reverse: Turreted, draped, & veiled head of Tyche, sign of Marnas near bust. RPC IV; Rosenberger 75; Sofaer 94. Ex Kenneth Abramowitz Collection.

[shanxi]

Some Faustinas: The mother Faustina I and the daughter Faustina II as FILIA. The depictions on the denarii of Faustina II are more on the common side, but usually you can immediately recognise them as Faustina II, even if you only see the reverse.

Faustina Senior
Denarius
Obv.: DIVA - FAVSTINA, draped bust right
Rev.: AED DIV FAVSTINAE, front of temple of Diva Faustina with six columns, in the center statue of Faustina.
Ag, 3,28g, 19mm
Ref.: RIC 343 [S], CRE 126 [C]

Faustina II
AR-Denar, Rome
Obv.: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right.
Rev.: PVDICITIA, Pudicitia standing facing, head left, drawing veil and holding hem of skirt
Ag, 3.24g, 16.7x18.7mm
Ref.: RIC III 507a, CRE-206 [C]

 

Faustina Minor
AR-Denar, Rome, AD 147-148
Obv.: FAVSTINAE AVG. PII AVG. FIL. Draped bust right, wearing stephane and pearls.
Rev.: LAETITIAE PVBLICAE, Laetitia, draped and diademed, standing left, holding long scepter in her left hand, wreath in her outstretched right hand.
Ag, 3.58g, 17mm
Ref.: RIC 506c, CRE 196 [S]

 

Faustina II
AR-Denar, Rome
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right
Rev.: CONCORDIA, Concordia standing, holding cornucopia and raising skirt with her right hand
Ag, 18.6mm, 3.26g
Ref.: RIC III 500b3, CRE 164 [R]

Edited August 12, 2023 by shanxi

[expat]

Antoninus Pius and the Great sow.
Often depicted on coins are celebrations of important events and, as this coin alludes to, the legendary founding of Rome. In this case these coins are intrinsically linked by images relating to the 900th year of the founding.
This from Virgil
The Aeneid Book VIII
It was night, and through all the land, deep sleep gripped weary creatures, bird and beast, when Aeneas, the leader, lay down on the river-bank, under the cold arch of the heavens, his heart troubled by war’s sadness, and at last allowed his body to rest.
Old Tiberinus himself, the god of the place, appeared to him, rising from his lovely stream, among the poplar leaves (fine linen cloaked him in a blue-grey mantle, and shadowy reeds hid his hair), Then he spoke, and with his words removed all cares: ‘O seed of the race of gods, who bring our Trojan city back from the enemy, and guard the eternal fortress, long looked-for on Laurentine soil, and in Latin fields, here is your house, and your house’s gods, for sure (do not desist), don’t fear the threat of war, the gods’ swollen anger has died away. And now, lest you think this sleep’s idle fancy, you’ll find a huge sow lying on the shore, under the oak trees, that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow, lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats, That place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labours. By this in a space of thirty years Ascanius will found the city of Alba.
Antoninus Pius AE As, RIC 733, Cohen 450, BMC 1624
143-144 AD. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right / IMPERATOR II S-C, Sow facing right under helm-oak, suckling four young, another piglet in front. SC in ex. 25mm, 10.09gr Scarce

 

[expat]

Antoninus Pius. Æ. As. TIBERIS. 140-143 AD
ANTONINVS AVG. PIVS P.P. Laureate head to the right.
  Reverse: TIBERIS. S.C. In exergue: TR. POT. COS III.
-Tíber reclining to the left and placing his hand on a rudder.

8.95g 25mm. Very scarce.
C-822. RIC. 706 a-S.
Tiberinus is a figure in Roman mythology. He was the god of the Tiber River. He was added to the 3,000 rivers as the genius of the Tiber

 

[lrbguy]

When I strip out the mundane deity reverse types, held by some in such low esteem, I am left with a small handful for the final days of Antoninus Pius. These have some of the more interesting reverses, but two of them may be thought of as transitional to his successor.  Tomorrow I will put up a group for his wife, Faustina I.

 

From a series of 33 design combos based on variant inscripted regnal titles for Antoninus and Aurelius all featuring a bust of Antoninus on the obverse and a bust of Aurelius on the reverse

Whole series ran from 139-144 AD

Antoninus Pius  140-144 (COS III)   
BMCRE 149   denarius of Rome      3.39g

Bare head R.
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS - PP TR P COSIII

Bare-headed bust L, draped
AVRELIUS CAES  - AVG PII F COS  

The head of Aurelius on this coin is much larger than the normal left facing head for silver.  This is the size of the head on the aurei.

 

Antoninus Pius  140-144 (COS III)   
BMCRE 155   denarius of Rome      3.11g

Laureate head R                      
ANTONINVS AVG PI - VS PP TR P COS III  140-144

Bare-headed bust L
AVRELIUS CAESAR AVG PII F COS

 

Posthumous issues

These were issued c.141 under joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

 

Antoninus Pius  c141   
BMCRE 48 (M&L)      denarius of Rome

Bare head R
DIVVS -  ANTONINVS

Eagle standing to R, head turned to L, on low garlanded base (altar?)
CONSECRATIO

 

 

Antoninus Pius  c141   
BMCRE 58 (M&L)     denarius of Rome   

Bare head R
DIVVS ANTONINVS (no break)

Pyre in four tiers, decorated with garlands and statues; on tiop quadriga facing, on 2nd tier, a door
CONSECRATIO

Edited August 13, 2023 by lrbguy
cleaned up loose ends

[Limes]

This coin was issued to mark the suppression of the British uprising circa AD 143 by his governor of Britannia, Q. Lollius Urbicus, which led to Antoninus being acclaimed Imperator (victorious general) for the second time IMPERATOR II). It also occasioned the building of the Antonine Wall. 

Temple of DIVVS AGVSTVS

With his heir

Showing Italia on a sphere

[Qcumbor]

I like the winged thunderbolt on that big chunck of orichalcum

Antoninus Pius, Sestertius - Rome mint, 140/144 CE
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right
PROVIDENTIAE DEORVM, winged thunderbolt, S - C in field
25.86 gr, 31 mm
Ref : Cohen #682, RCV # 4208, RIC III # 618

Q

[expat]

[kapphnwn]

Ar Denarius of Antoninus Pius 139 AD Obv Head right bare. Rv. Bust left draped RIC 411b 3.76 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen

Perhaps one of the earliest depictions of the young Marcus 

[expat]