Antoninus Pius Bronze Sestertius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 1140b

Monetary Context and Consecration Framework

During the High Roman Empire, the sestertius formed the principal large-format base metal denomination of daily commerce and public display. Struck in orichalcum, a golden-toned copper alloy rich in zinc, the sestertius carried a nominal value of four asses or one quarter of a silver denarius. Because of its expansive surface area and substantial flan weight, typically fluctuating between 24 and 30 grams during the Antonine period, the denomination served as an indispensable vehicle for state propaganda, allowing intricate architectural, religious, and ceremonial tableaux to be disseminated widely across the provinces and the capital. Following the death of Faustina the Elder in late AD 140 or early 141, Antoninus Pius redirected a vast portion of the imperial mint's resources toward her posthumous remembrance. The Senate decreed her consecration as Diva Faustina, instituting a dedicated priesthood, regular sacrifices, and a monumental temple on the Via Sacra. While consecutive series of consecratio issues celebrated various facets of her cult, type RIC III 1140b emerged during the earliest wave of deification issues in AD 141. By circulating massive orichalcum sestertii exhibiting Faustina in the guise of a divinity being conveyed in a sacred elephant-drawn cart, the regime firmly established her permanent presence within the Roman pantheon, affirming both dynastic legitimacy and traditional piety.

Mint Production and Metallurgical Standards

All specimens of RIC III Antoninus Pius 1140b were manufactured exclusively at the single central imperial mint in Rome. The production of orichalcum flans required a rigorous metallurgical process known as cementation, in which metallic copper was heated together with granulated zinc ore (calamine) and charcoal within sealed crucibles to produce brass. Sestertius blanks were individually cast and adjusted to meet the target weight standard before striking between heavy, hand-cut iron dies. Engravers at the Rome mint executed the dies for this issue with exceptional artistic discipline and compositional balance. The reverse composition, depicting a carriage pulled by two elephants, required careful perspective and spatial arrangement to fit within the circular field without crowding the figures or obscuring the legends. Striking was performed using manual sledgehammers, and alignment was typically oriented to a regular vertical axis, with die axes commonly falling near twelve o'clock or six o'clock, reflecting the high standards of workshop control characteristic of the early Antonine administration.

Obverse Iconography and Veiled Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III 1140b presents a refined right-facing bust of Faustina the Elder, enveloped in a bridal or sacrificial veil. Her hair is elaborately coiffed in her signature style, featuring meticulously arranged waves gathered into an elevated braided bun perched atop the crown of her head. Drapes cascade softly over her shoulders, framing the neck and lower jaw. The veil is an essential iconographic marker that signifies her posthumous state and transition to divinity. In Roman visual culture, the veil (velum) evoked religious solemnity, sacrifice, and the status of an elevated soul residing among the gods. Unlike lifetime portraits of the empress that depicted her bareheaded or adorned with pearl diadems, this veiled presentation became an iconic visual shorthand for Diva Faustina throughout the mid-second century AD.

Reverse Iconography: The Elephant-Drawn Car

The reverse of type 1140b features an elaborate ceremonial scene: Faustina the Elder is seated facing right within a low-walled ceremonial car or shrine cart, holding a long upright torch in one hand and ears of corn in the other. Her vehicle is drawn to the left by two powerful tusked elephants, each mounted by a rider or guide (mahout) seated upon the animal's neck and holding a guiding goad. Every element of this scene carries profound symbolic weight. Elephants were recognized throughout antiquity as symbols of immense strength, longevity, wisdom, and eternal life. In Roman state religion, elephant-drawn chariots had carried the cult statues of Divus Augustus and Diva Livia during the pompa circensis, the sacred parade opening games in the Circus Maximus. By showing Faustina transported in such a conveyance, the die engravers represented the empress's eternal triumph over mortality. Furthermore, the attributes held by Faustina, the torch and ears of corn, directly associate her with Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and renewal, who was closely linked to the empress's memory through imperial charity programs such as the Puellae Faustinianae.

Inscriptions and Epigraphic Analysis

The legends on RIC III 1140b are concise, highly legible, and deeply grounded in constitutional and religious tradition. The obverse reads DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, running along the circular border. The opening epithet DIVA explicitly designates Faustina as a deified personage, a sacred title conferred only after senatorial approval of consecration. AVGVSTA reaffirms the imperial title she held in life, while FAVSTINA serves as her personal nomen. The reverse bears the abbreviation EX S C, standing for Ex Senatus Consulto ('by decree of the Senate'). Unlike the standard S C formula common on regular bronze coinage of the Principate, the prepositional phrase EX S C carried an elevated, specific constitutional emphasis. It denoted that the striking of this extraordinary commemorative issue, along with the divine honors and public ceremonies it depicted, had been enacted under a special decree passed by the Senate in honor of the deceased Augusta.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In Roman Imperial Coinage, Mattingly classified the elephant-car sestertii of Diva Faustina under number 1140, distinguishing subtypes based on obverse bust treatments. Subtype 1140a features a draped bust without a veil, whereas subtype 1140b is strictly defined by the veiled and draped bust facing right. Neighboring catalogue entries, such as RIC III 1139 and 1141, feature related consecration types including a seated Faustina holding a sceptre or different arrangements of the surrounding legends. Modern numismatic research, particularly the die studies conducted by Martin Beckmann on the coinage of Diva Faustina, demonstrates that issues bearing the obverse legend DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA represent the earliest deification series struck immediately after her death in AD 141. Over the following months and years, the mint transitioned to the simplified obverse legend DIVA FAVSTINA, which dominated the extensive posthumous issues struck through the remainder of Antoninus Pius's reign. Consequently, RIC III 1140b can be dated securely to AD 141 as an immediate response to the formal consecration proceedings.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Survival

As a regular legal tender sestertius, RIC III 1140b circulated alongside standard bronze denominations of the Antonine era. Because it belonged to an initial commemorative series struck over a limited timeframe in AD 141, it was produced in smaller quantities than the subsequent, massive DIVA FAVSTINA series of the late 140s and 150s. Nevertheless, specimens entered wide circulation throughout the Western and Eastern provinces of the empire. Hoard evidence from across the Roman world demonstrates that high-denomination orichalcum sestertii remained in active circulation for decades, often remaining in currency well into the third century AD until the debasement crisis under the Severan and soldier emperors caused older, heavy brass coins to be hoarded or melted down. Extant specimens of 1140b frequently show moderate to heavy circulation wear, smoothed high points on the elephants and portrait, and attractive brass-green or dark brown patinas characteristic of prolonged burial in European soils.

References

1. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. pp. 22-38
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 163, no. 1140b
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 1140b. ric.3.ant.1140b
4. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. nos. 1205-1215