Antoninus Pius: Gold aureus Coinage

Coinage Scope and Selected Issues

The Gold aureus coinage issued in the name of Antoninus Pius includes issues distinguished by their portraits, inscriptions, reverse designs and mint attribution. This study concentrates on the accession Pietas issues of 138 CE, rather than presenting one design as the entire denomination.

The issue dates and detailed iconographic descriptions below apply to the discussed groups, not automatically to every coin bearing the ruler's name. Other types and mints require their own catalogue comparison. An individual gallery coin must be assessed from its own inscriptions and institutional record; its measurements and provenance do not define the whole coinage.

Historical Context

Following the unexpected death of his designated heir Lucius Aelius Caesar in January 138 CE, Emperor Hadrian chose Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus, a respected senator and former proconsul of Asia from a Nemausian family, as his successor. Hadrian formally adopted Antoninus on 25 February 138 CE. To guarantee long-term dynastic continuity, Hadrian obligated Antoninus to adopt simultaneously Marcus Annius Verus, the future Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Ceionius Commodus, the juvenile son of Aelius Caesar.

Hadrian passed away at the seaside resort of Baiae on 10 July 138 CE. Bitterness between the princeps and the senatorial order, exacerbated by late executions of prominent consular figures, prompted the Senate to consider refusing divine honors and rescinding Hadrian's administrative enactments. Antoninus resisted this move, arguing that annulling Hadrian's acts would legally dissolve his own adoption and throw imperial governance into turmoil. Through emotional appeals and persistent diplomacy, Antoninus secured Hadrian's formal deification as Divus Hadrianus and the ratification of his acts. In acknowledgment of this dutiful devotion toward his adoptive father and civic responsibility toward the state, the Senate bestowed upon Antoninus the surname Pius in the late summer or early autumn of 138 CE.

The gold aurei minted at Rome during the closing months of 138 CE broadcast this delicate political and constitutional reconciliation. Marked with the consular designation COS DES II, designating Antoninus as Consul Designate for the second time following his initial ordinary consulship of 120 CE, the issue was bounded strictly to late 138 CE. The series terminated on 1 January 139 CE, when Antoninus formally inaugurated his second consulship and monetary legends adjusted to COS II.

Selected Issues: Obverse Iconographic Composition

The obverse displays a mature portrait bust of Antoninus Pius facing right. The treatment of the head exhibits crisp artistic naturalism typical of high imperial portraiture, characterized by tight, orderly locks of curled hair distributed across the skull, combined with a full, neatly trimmed beard. This facial styling adheres to the Hellenic philosophical aesthetic popularized across the empire by Hadrian.

The principal variety across the gold denomination presents an unadorned bare head with a cleanly delineated truncation at the neck. Alongside this dominant form, contemporary die pairs feature a draped bust facing right, showing folds of the military mantle (paludamentum) gathered over the shoulder. Both treatments emphasize an image of gravitas, seasoned administrative maturity, and constitutional restraint.

Selected Issues: Obverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse field carries the Latin inscription arranged along the outer border:

• Inscribed Text: IMP T AEL CAES HADRI ANTONINVS
• Alphabet / Script: Latin (Classical Capital)
• Language: Latin
• Transliteration & Expansion: IMP(erator) T(itus) AEL(ius) CAES(ar) HADRI(anus) ANTONINVS
• English Translation: "Imperator Titus Aelius Caesar Hadrianus Antoninus"
• Placement: Circumferential, beginning at the lower left and running clockwise around the rim.

This obverse formula notably incorporates Antoninus's adopted nomenclature, directly affirming his legal descent from Hadrian. The titles AVG (Augustus) and PIVS are conspicuously absent from this side of the coin. Numismatic analysis indicates that early dies cut in the immediate wake of Hadrian's death preserved the titular format established during Antoninus's months as Caesar, shifting his newly conferred imperial titles to the reverse.

Selected Issues: Reverse Iconographic Composition

The reverse field features the female personification Pietas, the Roman virtue of religious piety, filial duty, and familial devotion. Draped in a long stola and an enveloping palla, Pietas stands before a low, burning sacrificial altar.

In the primary compositional format, Pietas stands facing right before the altar. Her right hand is extended and raised above the flame in an act of sacrifice, while her left hand cradles an incense container, identified as an acerra or pyxis, at waist height. In an established directional variant of the same emission, the figure stands facing left, extending her right hand over an altar positioned to the left while retaining the incense vessel in her left hand. The quiet, reverent posture visualizes Antoninus's filial defense of Hadrian's legacy and emphasizes the religious compact sustaining the empire.

Selected Issues: Reverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse inscription encircles the upper flan around the personification of Pietas:

• Inscribed Text: AVG PIVS P M TR P COS DES II
• Alphabet / Script: Latin (Classical Capital)
• Language: Latin
• Transliteration & Expansion: AVG(ustus) PIVS P(ontifex) M(aximus) TR(ibunicia) P(otestate) COS (consul) DES(ignatus) II
• English Translation: "Augustus, Pius, Pontifex Maximus, invested with Tribunician Power, Consul-Designate for the second time"
• Placement: Circumferential, commencing at the lower left and reading clockwise above the central figure.

This legend supplements the titular sequence left incomplete on the obverse. The title PIVS occupies a position directly above or adjacent to the personification, reinforcing the programmatic link between the newly granted surname and the sacrificial act depicted on the altar. The consular title COS DES II securely anchors the production window to the second half of 138 CE.

Typology and Documented Variants

The Rome mint produced several distinct typological varieties of this accession gold aureus during the late months of 138 CE, distinguished by portrait drapery, direction of the reverse figure, and orthographic abbreviation:

• Pietas Standing Right, Bare Head: Obverse shows a bare head right with legend IMP T AEL CAES HADRI ANTONINVS; reverse features Pietas standing right sacrificing over a burning altar, holding an incense box, inscribed AVG PIVS P M TR P COS DES II. Catalogued as RIC III 13a, BMCRE IV 27, Cohen 70, and Calicó 1469a.
• Pietas Standing Right, Draped Bust: Obverse shows a bare-headed, draped bust right with standard legend; reverse features Pietas standing right sacrificing over the altar. Catalogued as RIC III 13b, BMCRE IV 28, Cohen 71, and Calicó 1469.
• Pietas Standing Left, Bare Head: Obverse features a bare head right; reverse depicts Pietas standing left sacrificing over an altar positioned to her left. Catalogued as RIC III 14a, BMCRE IV 30, Cohen 73, and Calicó 1475.
• Pietas Standing Left, Draped Bust: Obverse features a bare-headed, draped bust right; reverse depicts Pietas standing left sacrificing over an altar to the left. Catalogued as RIC III 14b, BMCRE IV 31, Cohen 74, and Calicó 1478.
• Contracted Obverse Legend Variant: Obverse bears a bare-headed, draped bust right with the abbreviated reading IMP T AEL CAES HADR ANTONINVS; reverse maintains Pietas standing right before an altar. Catalogued as RIC III 24 and Calicó 1474.

While parallel iconographic themes appear on contemporary denarii and base metal denominations struck in 138 CE, they constitute independent denominational emissions.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

The accession issues of Antoninus Pius provide key insight into Rome mint administration and imperial messaging during dynastic transitions:

• Partitioned Titulature and Die Utilization: Numismatic scholars, including Paul L. Strack and Harold Mattingly, observed that placing AVG PIVS on the reverse die reflects an accelerated transition at the mint. Rather than discarding portrait obverse dies prepared when Antoninus was Caesar or immediately upon Hadrian's death, celators paired available obverse dies with updated reverse dies that incorporated the new titles granted by the Senate.
• Multivalent Meanings of Pietas: In her examination of Antonine coinage, Clare Rowan highlights how the virtue of Pietas evolves across the reign. In the 138 to 139 CE emissions, Pietas is rendered strictly in a sacrificial setting with altar and incense box, symbolizing Antoninus's filial devotion to Hadrian and his conciliation of the Senate. Later in the reign, the personification shifts to incorporate children, realigning the concept toward dynastic fecundity and the Antonine succession.
• Archaeological Contexts: Individual stratified finds, such as an aureus discovered in a second-century domestic context at Bethsaida north of the Sea of Galilee documented by Rami Arav and Carl Savage, demonstrate the rapid circulation of high-denomination accession coinage through provincial administrative and military channels.

References

1. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 25-29, nos. 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b, 24
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. xvii, xlv-xlvii; pp. 4-5, nos. 27-31
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE): RIC III Antoninus Pius 13a. ric.3.ant.13a
4. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain, Tome II. pp. 277-278, nos. 70, 71, 73, 74
5. The Roman Aurei: An Exhaustive Catalogue of Roman Aurei Struck in Rome, the Provincial Mints and By the Gallic Empire. pp. 268-272, nos. 1469, 1469a, 1474, 1475, 1478
6. Imaging the Golden Age: The Coinage of Antoninus Pius. Papers of the British School at Rome 81 (2013), pp. 211-246
7. A Rare Aureus of Antoninus Pius at Bethsaida. Israel Numismatic Research 6 (2011), pp. 135-138
8. Art Institute of Chicago Collections Database: Aureus Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius. Specimen record 10006, Accession 1923.1271
9. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Further reading: Stuttgart: Kohlhammer (1937), pp. 17-25