Diva Faustina I Bronze Sestertius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 1135b

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the reign of Antoninus Pius, the monetary structure of the Roman Empire maintained the stable bimetallic and base-metal framework consolidated under the early principate. The sestertius served as the largest and most commercially visible copper-alloy denomination in everyday circulation, valued at one quarter of a silver denarius or four copper asses. Struck in orichalcum, a golden-hued brass alloy composed primarily of copper and zinc, the denomination served not only as an essential medium for substantial cash transactions within domestic markets but also as the primary vehicle for high-impact visual communication. Base-metal coinage circulated widely among urban populations, soldiers, and merchants across Italy and the western provinces, where the imagery struck upon its wide flan was accessible to a broad public that rarely held gold aurei. When Empress Faustina the Elder died in late AD 141, Antoninus Pius leveraged this large-format denomination to broadcast her elevation to divine status. Coins bearing the consecratio motifs were struck in massive quantities across all denominations, but sestertii such as RIC III 1135b uniquely combined physical mass and visual grandeur, making them exceptionally potent instruments of dynastic ideology and imperial commemoration.

Mint Organization and Physical Production

All official base-metal issues for Diva Faustina bearing the reverse type of RIC III 1135b were produced exclusively by the imperial mint in Rome. The mint operated under central bureaucratic oversight, organizing its artisans into specialized teams of die-engravers, flan-casters, and strikers. Sestertius blanks were produced by pouring molten brass alloy into spherical or lens-shaped moulds, followed by cooling, trimming, and careful weighing to conform to the prevailing imperial weight standard. During this period, the target weight for an individual sestertius typically hovered around twenty-five to twenty-seven grams, with a module measuring approximately thirty-one to thirty-three millimeters in diameter, though significant individual variations occurred naturally within standard production batches. The engraving of the reverse dies for RIC III 1135b required exceptional skill, as the die-cutter had to render miniature architectural elements across three receding tiers, complete with decorative pilasters, garlands, and the crowning sculptural group of a biga. Hot or cold striking between hand-held bronze or iron dies subjected the flans to high mechanical stress, creating sharp relief that showcased the delicate details of the funeral pyre and the fine folds of Faustina's veil.

Obverse Design and Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III 1135b presents a draped and veiled bust of Faustina the Elder facing to the right. Faustina's hair is arranged in the distinctive, elaborate coiffure that became her signature fashion: braided strands gathered up toward the crown of the head, secured into a high, coiled chignon, and partially covered by a thin veil draped over the back of the head. The veil functions as an immediate iconographic indicator of her deceased and consecrated condition, transitioning her imperial portrait from the living Augusta of previous issues to a divine patroness of the Roman state. The facial features reflect the restrained classicism characteristic of the Antonine court style, emphasizing dignified composure, smooth contours, and idealized beauty rather than excessive realism. The die-engravers paid meticulous attention to the balance between the portrait volume and the surrounding lettering, ensuring that the profile and veil filled the central visual field without crowding the circular legend. In numismatic classification, this veiled bust corresponds to subtype b of the broader 1135 issue, contrasting directly with subtype a, which displays an unveiled bust.

Reverse Iconography: The Funeral Pyre and Apotheosis

The reverse design represents the grand funeral pyre, or ustrinum, erected on the Campus Martius for Faustina's public cremation and apotheosis, though older numismatic literature sometimes described it as a permanent mausoleum. The structure is rendered in low to moderate relief as a three-storied architectural monument elevated upon a stepped or paneled podium. The lower two stories feature rectangular elevations framed by pilasters, festoons, and central openings or draped niches reminiscent of temporary festival architecture. The uppermost tier is narrower, functioning as a pedestal for the crowning figurative monument. Positioned upon the summit, Faustina the Elder is depicted driving a two-horse chariot, or biga, to the right. Her mantle billows dramatically behind and above her head in an arched curve, reproducing the classical aura velificans motif that signifies celestial flight, wind-born ascent, and transcendence into the divine realm. By illustrating the physical mechanism of her translation to the heavens, the coin captures the exact moment when the empress was received among the immortal gods, translating complex public ritual into permanent numismatic form.

Epigraphic Analysis and Legend Formulations

The legends on RIC III 1135b are remarkably succinct, adhering to the formalized epigraphic conventions of imperial consecration. The obverse legend reads DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, running clockwise along the border from the lower left. The term DIVA explicitly affirms Faustina's newly granted deification, while AVGVSTA maintains her lifetime imperial title, and FAVSTINA provides her family cognomen. This specific three-word legend belongs to the initial phase of her posthumous coinage, struck during the months following her deification in late AD 141, before the mint shortened the obverse formula on later issues to DIVA FAVSTINA. The reverse legend consists of the single word CONSECRATIO, inscribed in the upper field or divided across the sides of the pyre. Derived from the Latin consecrare, the term legally and religiously denotes the elevation of an imperial personage to divine rank through formal decree. Flanking the lower structure in the left and right fields are the large letters S and C, an abbreviation for Senatus Consulto, meaning by decree of the Senate. This formula verified that the base-metal issue was struck with the formal constitutional assent of the senatorial order, honoring both the deified empress and the authority of the princeps.

Typology, Classification, and Relative Chronology

Within the standard classification systems of Roman imperial numismatics, RIC III 1135b is grouped under the posthumous issues of Antoninus Pius struck for Diva Faustina the Elder. Harold Mattingly and Edward A. Sydenham categorized the type in Roman Imperial Coinage based on the combination of the DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA obverse inscription, the veiled portrait variant, and the tiered consecratio pyre on the reverse. Paul L. Strack, in his fundamental corpus of Antonine coinage, demonstrated that issues retaining the title AVGVSTA in conjunction with DIVA belong chronologically to the earliest emission of consecration coins, minted directly in AD 141. Later emissions gradually transitioned to alternative legends, such as DIVA FAVSTINA and DIVA FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, while introducing different reverse themes featuring Ceres, Vesta, and Aeternitas. The pyre reverse type itself was produced with two primary obverse bust treatments: RIC III 1135a features a draped bust without a veil, whereas RIC III 1135b specifically requires the draped and veiled bust. The type is closely related to contemporaneous issues struck in gold as aurei and in silver as denarii, which depicted the identical pyre motif scaled to their respective flan sizes.

Circulation Patterns and Monetary Lifecycle

Once released into the Roman financial network from the mint in Rome, sestertii of the RIC III 1135b type entered wide circulation across the Italian peninsula and the western provinces, including Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and the German frontiers. Base-metal coinage circulated alongside existing Flavian, Trajanic, and Hadrianic aes issues, maintaining an extended operational lifetime due to the durable nature of large brass flans. Hoard evidence and site finds demonstrate that Antonine sestertii frequently remained in daily use for several decades, often circulating well into the third century AD until the severe inflationary crises and debasements of the mid-260s drove large orichalcum pieces out of the commercial economy. Over years of manual exchange, the high-relief architectural details of the pyre and the delicate lines of Faustina's veil tended to wear down, leaving smoothed surfaces where only the outline of the tiers and the primary letters of CONSECRATIO remained legible. Specimens recovered in archaeological contexts often show varying degrees of surface patina and edge wear, reflecting their long and active service as everyday currency throughout the Roman world.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 231-233, nos. 1429-1434
2. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 140-145
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 1135b. ric.3.ant.1135b
4. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 163, no. 1135b
5. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil II: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. nos. 1205-1210