Faustina the Younger Sestertius RIC III Antoninus Pius 1387a

Monetary Context and Dynastic Policy

During the mid-second century AD, the Roman monetary system functioned as an interconnected hierarchy of precious metal and copper-alloy denominations, with the sestertius serving as the core unit of domestic account and daily wholesale commerce. Valued at one-quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses, the sestertius was cast and struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned brass alloy composed of copper and zinc. Because of its large module and broad flan, the sestertius offered Roman authorities an expansive surface for political, ideological, and dynastic messaging. Under Antoninus Pius, who enjoyed a remarkably tranquil and administratively stable reign, coinage frequently celebrated the continuity of the imperial family. The union of Antoninus Pius's daughter, Annia Galeria Faustina (Faustina the Younger), with his adopted successor Marcus Aurelius in AD 145 formed the linchpin of the emperor's succession strategy. Following the birth of their first daughter, Domitia Faustina, in late AD 147, Faustina was formally granted the title of Augusta. Coinage produced in her name, authorized under her father's supreme imperium, highlighted marital harmony and dynastic fecundity, assuring the Roman populace and military of a seamless transition of power.

Production Standards and Minting at Rome

RIC III Antoninus Pius 1387a was struck exclusively at the principal imperial mint in Rome. The production of sestertii involved exacting metallurgical preparation, as the mint workers melted copper with calamine ore via the cementation process to produce the signature orichalcum alloy. Freshly cast circular blanks were heated before being placed between engraved bronze dies, an operation requiring substantial manual force delivered by heavy hammer blows. While individual surviving specimens vary in mass due to the tolerances of bulk blank manufacture (al marco), the target weight standard for mid-Antonine sestertii hovered between 24 and 28 grams, with typical diameters ranging between 31 and 34 millimeters. Die engravers at Rome demonstrated extraordinary technical refinement during this era, rendering high-relief portraits with fluid modeling and subtle decorative textures. Die alignment on these issues is predominantly vertical or inverted vertical (regularly at twelve or six o'clock), reflecting the disciplined operational habits of the urban mint officinae.

Obverse Portraiture and Style

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1387a displays a right-facing, draped bust of the young empress Faustina. The portrait captures her youthful features during the early years of her marriage and public career, eschewing the later, more mature styling seen on the coinage of Marcus Aurelius's sole or joint reigns. The coiffure is rendered with painstaking attention to detail: the hair is divided into crisp horizontal crimps or waves that frame the skull, while delicate tendrils or ringlets escape to frame the temple and cheek. At the back of the head, the hair is gathered and wound into a tight, coiled chignon positioned low against the nape. The drapery wraps around the base of the neck and shoulders in soft, classical folds. This specific coiffure constitutes the earliest distinct hairstyle identified in modern typological studies of Faustina Minor's iconography, aligning closely with sculpted marble portraits created between AD 147 and 152 to mark her ascent as imperial mother.

Reverse Iconography of Venus

The reverse design centers upon the goddess Venus, depicted standing and turned toward the left. She is clothed in a long, draped stola that cascades gracefully to her feet, emphasizing modesty alongside divine majesty. In her extended right hand, Venus supports a spherical apple, the classic prize of Paris symbolizing transcendent beauty and divine favor. Her left hand steadies an upright, vertical sceptre, denoting sovereignty and celestial power. Flanking the lower fields of the composition is the senatorial mark S C (Senatus Consulto), affirming that the bronze coinage was officially struck with the formal decree of the Senate. The selection of Venus on Faustina's coinage carries multi-layered connotations: she represents Venus Genetrix, the primordial ancestor of the Roman line, while concurrently evoking Venus Felix, the bringer of marital concord, auspicious fortune, and healthy royal heirs to the imperial house.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The legends on RIC III Antoninus Pius 1387a are concise, fully Latinate, and structured to declare political rank and religious association. The obverse inscription reads FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, expanding epigraphically as 'Faustina Augusta, Pii Augusti Filia' (Faustina the Empress, Daughter of Pius Augustus). This legend is of paramount chronological and constitutional significance: by emphasizing 'PII AVG FIL', the inscription firmly anchors her authority as the legitimate daughter of the reigning emperor Antoninus Pius, rather than identifying her by her spouse, Marcus Aurelius. The lettering is cleanly cut in elegant Roman imperial capitals with regular spacing along the beaded border. The reverse legend is minimalist, reading simply VENVS, positioned along the upper arc of the coin, complemented by the letters S and C placed respectively to the left and right of the goddess in the lower field. This concise titulature avoids complex administrative numbering, focusing entirely on the divine patroness.

Typology and Chronological Classification

Within the system of the Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), number 1387 is divided into sub-varieties based on subtle portrait nuances and bust arrangements. Sub-type 1387a specifically denotes the draped bust facing right with the horizontal wave hairstyle and ringlets, distinguishing it from un-draped variations, left-facing portraits, or later issues where the hair is pulled into a high chignon or adorned with pearls and diadem. In Paul Strack's foundational corpus of the coinage of Antoninus Pius, this emission is placed securely in the early phase of Faustina's Augusta issues, beginning around AD 147. Although Antoninus Pius ruled until AD 161, allowing this type a broad catalogued date range of AD 145 to 161, stylistic developments and portrait transitions strongly suggest that production of the VENVS type with the filial legend peaked between AD 147 and roughly AD 152. As subsequent children were born to Faustina and Marcus Aurelius, the imperial mint gradually shifted reverse themes toward Fecunditas, Pietas, and Juno Lucina, making the simple Venus standing type characteristic of her early matrimonial emissions.

Circulation, Hoards, and Archaeological Context

As the primary heavy bronze coin of the Antonine realm, sestertii like RIC III 1387a circulated extensively throughout the western and Danubian provinces, as well as in Roman Italy. Archaeological finds from military forts along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, urban excavations in Gaul and Britannia, and site finds in North Africa demonstrate that these large brass coins moved fluidly along state supply lines and commercial trade networks. Because orichalcum sestertii retained substantial intrinsic and fiduciary value, they remained active in circulation for decades. Many specimens continued to pass through hands well into the third century AD, frequently exhibiting extensive wear, smoothed details, or countermarks applied during the reigns of subsequent emperors to revalidate worn bronze during times of currency shortages. Hoard evidence from western Europe confirms that Antonine sestertii formed the backbone of bronze currency deposits up until the monetary transformations and debasements of the mid-third-century crisis.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 340-342
2. Die Bildnistypen der Faustina minor und die Fecunditas Augustae. pp. 20-35
3. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 110-125
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 1387a. ric.3.ant.1387a
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 191, no. 1387a
6. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. no. 1195