Antoninus Pius Sestertius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b

Monetary Context and Denominational Function

Within the monetary hierarchy of the high Roman Empire, the sestertius functioned as the premier large-denomination token coin of daily commerce and public communication. Cast and struck in orichalcum, an alloy of copper and zinc often referred to broadly as bronze, the sestertius was tariffed at one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses. Under Antoninus Pius, the imperial monetary system maintained the structural standards consolidated under the early Principate, combining precious-metal issues for major administrative disbursements with massive base-metal coinages intended for urban commerce, regional circulation, and the payment of official civic obligations. Because of its expansive flan, measuring typically between 30 and 34 millimeters, and an official target mass in the range of 25 to 28 grams, the sestertius offered Roman authorities an exceptionally broad surface for intricate pictorial displays. The issue of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b occurred within an extensive monetary program initiated shortly after the demise of the empress in AD 140 or AD 141. By commanding the striking of monumental base-metal denominations celebrating Faustina's ascension to divine status, Antoninus Pius mobilized everyday currency to project dynastic stability, piety, and the eternal elevation of the imperial house across all strata of Roman society.

Mint Organization and Production Techniques

The production of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b was situated entirely within the imperial mint at Rome, the sole administrative center responsible for striking regular base-metal senatorial coinages during this phase of the Antonine principate. In accordance with longstanding administrative tradition, base-metal coinage struck at Rome retained the formal mark S C (Senatus Consulto), signifying that the issue was authorized by a decree of the Senate, even as artistic style and ideological direction emanated from the imperial palace. Production utilized heated cast blanks of orichalcum, placed between hand-engraved iron or bronze dies and struck with heavy handheld hammers. The high relief of the empress's veiled portrait and the intricate anatomy of the ascending eagle required tremendous striking pressure, often resulting in slight irregular flan margins and occasional die shifts. Die engravers at Rome demonstrated advanced mastery of classical proportions, cutting deeply incised negative dies that achieved remarkable three-dimensional depth on the finished coins. The alignment of the obverse and reverse dies for this series was predominantly set at an upright or inverted axial orientation, commonly twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting the standardized mechanical controls practiced by the celatores and officinae of the urban mint.

Obverse Portraiture and Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b is distinguished by a refined, dignified bust of the deified Empress Faustina the Elder facing right. Unlike contemporary issues that display her hair adorned solely with an intricate coiled braid, type 1133b features the empress draped and formally veiled. The veil covers the back and crown of her head, draped gracefully over her shoulders. In Roman numismatic and religious convention, the veiled head served as an immediate visual signifier of deification, modesty, and sacred status, directly identifying the empress as Diva. Her hair beneath the veil is styled in her characteristic coiffure, featuring undulating waves drawn back from the temples and gathered into a high woven coronet at the apex of the skull. The portraiture consciously avoids excessive individualized realism, presenting an idealized, timeless countenance characterized by serene facial planes, an aquiline nose, and calm composure. This blend of dignified maturity and divine agelessness was calculated to convey Faustina's perpetual standing among the gods of Rome, creating an image of matronly virtue and transcendent sanctity that defined Antonine court aesthetics.

Reverse Iconography: The Imperial Consecratio

The reverse design of this sestertius offers one of the most dynamic allegorical representations of imperial apotheosis found in Roman numismatics. The central motif depicts an eagle, the sacred bird of Jupiter and the traditional emissary of imperial apotheosis, flying vigorously to the right with outstretched wings. Perched upon the back of the raptor is the deified Empress Faustina the Elder. Her figure is rendered in celestial transit, seated sideward on the plumage of the ascending eagle. In her left hand, Faustina holds a transverse sceptre, the ancient attribute of regal majesty and divine sovereignty. Her mantle billows dramatically behind her head in an arching loop, a classic artistic convention known as the velificatio, which ancient sculptors and die engravers employed to signify rapid heavenly motion through the celestial sphere. Below the soaring composition and across the open fields sits the abbreviation S C, balanced on either side of the exergual area. The entire vignette presents an explicit narrative of the empress being transported directly from the terrestrial pyre of the Campus Martius to the heavens, visually affirming the official senatorial ratification of her divine immortality.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The epigraphy of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b is concise, bold, and strictly focused on the divine status of the empress and the legal authorization of the issue. The obverse legend reads DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, running clockwise along the outer border. In this inscription, the opening title Diva unequivocally announces Faustina's post-mortem deification, while Augusta recalls the supreme rank she held during life, followed by her personal nomen Faustina. On the reverse, the single substantive legend CONSECRATIO is positioned in the upper field or circumferentially, proclaiming the formal ceremony and religious transition of the empress into a goddess. The field is further inscribed with the monumental letters S C (Senatus Consulto), divided to the left and right across the lower expanse. The lettering style is executed in classical Roman lapidary capitals, marked by clean vertical stems, balanced proportions, and sharply cut serifs that match the monumental epigraphic style of imperial architecture in the mid-second century AD. The absence of Antoninus Pius's own imperial titulature from both faces of the coin highlights the exclusively commemorative focus of the type, placing total emphasis on the celestial honor bestowed upon his deceased consort.

Typological Position and Chronological Framework

Catalogued under the reference RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b, this type holds a distinct position within the complex sequence of consecration coinages issued for Diva Faustina the Elder. While the deification process commenced in late AD 140 and early AD 141, the striking of DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA issues represents the earliest phase of her post-mortem coinage, preceding the later, highly prolific series marked simply DIVA FAVSTINA. Typologically, RIC 1133 is split into two primary obverse varieties: RIC 1133a, which depicts Faustina draped without a veil, and RIC 1133b, defined specifically by her draped and veiled bust. The reverse type featuring the eagle carrying the empress stands in marked contrast to alternative consecratio themes, such as the funeral pyre, the stationary eagle perched on an altar or globe, or the celestial carpentum drawn by elephants. While Harold Mattingly and subsequent researchers place the inception of this specific eagle-flight motif directly in AD 141 immediately following the state funeral and senatorial consecration decree, commemorative dies may have remained active or were re-engraved across the early 140s AD, maintaining this powerful image alongside ongoing construction of the Temple of Faustina in the Roman Forum.

Circulation Patterns and Wear Life

As a high-value base-metal coin, the sestertius circulated extensively throughout the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Italy, Gaul, the Rhineland, and Britain, while base-metal circulation in the Greek-speaking East remained largely supplied by local civic coinages. Because orichalcum sestertii possessed considerable purchasing power, often representing several days of subsistence wages for an ordinary laborer, they were heavily used in everyday market transactions. Archaeological finds and hoards indicate that second-century sestertii experienced extraordinarily prolonged circulatory lifespans, remaining in active commercial circulation for decades, frequently surviving in currency pools down to the monetary disruptions of the mid-third century AD. In the course of prolonged circulation, the high-relief elements of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b, particularly the delicate facial veil and the feather details of the ascending eagle, were vulnerable to progressive mechanical abrasion and contact wear. Corrosion and patination in soil environments have left surviving specimens with variable surface preservation, ranging from dense green and brown mineral patinas to smoothed surfaces where peripheral letters and sceptre details have softened under heavy commercial handling.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Faustina I, Consecratio issues
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 1133b. ric.3.ant.1133b
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 163, no. 1133b