Diva Faustina Orichalcum Sestertius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110

Monetary Context and Imperial Consecration

During the high Antonine era, the monetary system of the Roman Empire rested upon a bi-metallic and base-metal hierarchy anchored by the gold aureus and the silver denarius, supported for daily transactions by base-metal denominations struck in copper alloys. Within this framework, the sestertius occupied a paramount role. Valued at one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius was the largest regular copper-alloy coin in circulation. Its substantial physical diameter and broad surface area made it the premier vehicle for official imperial messaging, public commemoration, and artistic expression. Unlike precious metal issues, which were distributed primarily through military stipends and elite transfers, sestertii circulated broadly across retail, market, and municipal contexts throughout Italy and the western provinces. When Annia Galeria Faustina, the beloved empress consort known to modern scholarship as Faustina the Elder, died around October or November of 140 AD, the Roman political landscape experienced a profound moment of dynastic theatre. Her devoted husband, Emperor Antoninus Pius, petitioned the Senate for her deification. The Senate promptly ratified her consecration, raising her to the ranks of the divine as Diva Faustina and authorizing temple construction, public cult practices, and extensive commemorative coin issues. Struck in golden-hued orichalcum, RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 represents an essential component of this deification program, communicating the transcendent afterlife of the empress alongside the eternal stability of Antonine governance.

Production Technology and Rome Mint Operations

All regular imperial brass and copper coinage bearing the name and likeness of Diva Faustina, including RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110, was manufactured exclusively by the imperial mint at Rome. During the Antonine period, the Rome mint was a highly structured, compartmentalized institution operating multiple officinae capable of producing massive quantities of currency simultaneously. The physical manufacture of the sestertius utilized orichalcum, a copper-zinc alloy known for its vibrant, brassy appearance that distinguished it visually from the pure copper used for asses and dupondii. Cast flans were prepared to standard mass requirements before being heated and placed between hand-engraved iron dies. Die-engravers at Rome demonstrated peak mastery during this period, executing relief work of refined sculptural quality. Striking was performed manually by hammer crews, requiring substantial mechanical force to expand the thick metal blank into the deep recesses of the dies. Because the coin carries the traditional formula S C, or Senatus Consulto, on its reverse, its production legally acknowledged senatorial authority over token bronze coinage, even though actual operational oversight and bullion allocation were directed by imperial procurators. Production standards for the issue conformed to the standard weight and size metrics of second-century Roman sestertii, which typically centered around a median weight between twenty-four and twenty-eight grams with diameters spanning thirty-one to thirty-four millimeters, though individual specimens demonstrate natural variations resulting from manual pouring and flan trimming.

Obverse Portraiture and Regal Iconography

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 presents a serene, right-facing portrait bust of Diva Faustina, depicted with elegant drapery gathered at the shoulder and neckline. Numismatists and art historians consider the portraiture of Faustina the Elder to be one of the most distinctive typological achievements of imperial Roman sculpture. The engraving captures her iconic and intricate coiffure, which served as an aristocratic fashion model across the Roman world. Her hair is elaborately waved along the temples and forehead, gathered into parallel woven horizontal bands that sweep across the crown of the head, drawn tightly upward from the nape of the neck, and coiled into a voluminous circular braided chignon secured at the top of the cranium. Unlike certain posthumous portraits that incorporate a consecration veil, stephane, or celestial crescent, this specific catalogue type deliberately portrays Faustina bare-headed, emphasizing her naturalistic regal features while presenting an idealized, timeless visage free from the marks of physical aging. The drapery folds are rendered with classical restraint, creating a balanced tactile relief against the flat fields of the flan. The overall visual tone of the obverse establishes a portrait of solemn dignity, presenting the deceased empress as an eternal, divine protectress of Rome and the Antonine household.

Reverse Iconography: Providentia and Eternity

The reverse design of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 illustrates a full-length personification of Providentia, standing turned toward the left in a graceful, classical contrapposto posture. Providentia is fully draped in a long stola with an overgarment, with fabric folds cascading around her legs. In her extended right hand, she holds an earthly globe, while her left hand rests upon a long, vertical sceptre held upright. The globe signifies universal dominion and the cosmic order, while the sceptre serves as the classic attribute of divine majesty, sovereign authority, and celestial oversight. Through this iconographic combination, the reverse synthesizes divine foresight with dynastic continuity. While the accompanying legend invokes Aeternitas, the actual figure rendered is allegorized as Providentia, illustrating an ideological intersection common in second-century Roman numismatics: divine foresight is the precise instrument through which eternal stability is achieved. The presence of the deified empress in the divine realm ensures that the gods look favorably upon the empire, providing the imperial house with perpetual guidance. Flanking the lower fields of the composition are the bold capital letters S and C, representing Senatus Consulto, which visually ground the celestial theme within the constitutional framework of Roman civil governance.

Inscriptional Analysis and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 are notable for their conciseness, solemnity, and profound ideological weight. The obverse legend reads DIVA FAVSTINA, arranged continuously along the outer rim beginning in the lower left field and curving upward clockwise over the portrait. The omission of traditional imperial titles, such as Augusta or parental lineage markers, highlights the absolute primacy of her divine status. The term Diva explicitly identifies Faustina as deified, designating an individual who has transcended mortal existence through formal senatorial consecration to receive public sacrificial cult honors. On the reverse, the inscription reads AETERNITAS, running clockwise along the upper border of the coin flan. This single, evocative word encapsulates the philosophical concept of timelessness, perpetual renewal, and the enduring nature of the Roman state and its ruling dynasty. In the left and right fields of the reverse, flanking the figure of Providentia, sits the senatorial abbreviation S C, for Senatus Consulto, translated as by decree of the Senate. Epigraphically, the lettering is executed in formal Roman square capitals, characterized by neat serifs, balanced proportional spacing, and clear legibility, representing the highest standards of the central Rome mint engraving workshops.

Typology, Chronological Sequence, and Variants

In the master typology established by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham in Roman Imperial Coinage and expanded by Martin Beckmann in his landmark die studies of the Diva Faustina series, the posthumous coinage of Faustina I is organized into several distinct chronological phases. RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 belongs to the initial consecration group struck in 141 AD, shortly after the empress passed away and received divine honors. This earliest deification phase is readily distinguished from later issues by its specific legend pairings and stylistic features. During this inaugural period, the obverse inscription DIVA FAVSTINA was paired with various allegorical reverses emphasizing her consecration and divine attributes, including Aeternitas, Consecratio, and Pietas. In RIC III 1110, the reverse combines the legend AETERNITAS with the standing figure holding a globe and sceptre, an iconography traditionally associated with Providentia. This specific combination is distinct from related contemporary issues that depict Aeternitas holding a phoenix or lifting her veil, or those where Providentia is explicitly named in the reverse legend. Die studies demonstrate that multiple die pairs were engraved for this type, displaying minor artistic variations in the execution of the braided hair coil, the draping of the garments, and the relative scale of the globe and sceptre, while remaining strictly unified in core typological elements.

Monetary Circulation and Archaeological Context

Once struck at the Rome mint, sestertii of the Diva Faustina deification series entered wide circulation throughout the urban markets of Rome and Italy before rapidly diffusing along military supply routes and commercial arteries into the western provinces, including Gaul, Britannia, the Germanies, and Hispania. As high-value everyday token coins, sestertii experienced high velocity in retail transactions and civic payments. Archaeological evidence from major hoard deposits and urban excavations reveals that Diva Faustina sestertii remained in active circulation for several decades, frequently surviving well into the reigns of Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. Due to the high tin and zinc content of orichalcum, circulated specimens often suffered mechanical wear and environmental corrosion, gradually losing their brilliant golden luster to acquire green or dark brown patinas over centuries of soil burial. Hoard analyses demonstrate that because Antoninus Pius maintained a remarkably stable monetary standard without dramatic weight reductions in the base-metal series, earlier sestertii were not aggressively melted down or culled, allowing RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110 to circulate alongside later Antonine and Severan bronze types until the monetary upheavals of the mid-third century AD.

References

1. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome (Numismatic Studies 26). American Numismatic Society, pp. 25-50
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 230-234
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 1110. Type record ric.3.ant.1110
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 160-161, no. 1110