Faustina the Elder Gold Aureus, RIC III Antoninus Pius 331

Monetary Context and Imperial Policy

The accession of Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus in July AD 138 marked a seamless constitutional transition following the carefully orchestrated adoptions of Hadrian. While the Roman Empire enjoyed broad internal stability, the new ruler faced the imperative task of presenting his imperial house as cohesive, legitimate, and favored by the traditional pantheon. High-denomination gold coinage occupied a central position in imperial monetary policy. The aureus functioned not only as the fiscal backbone of elite trade and military subventions but also as the primary vehicle for high-status dynastic propaganda throughout the Mediterranean world. Gold issues celebrating the emperor's wife, Faustina the Elder, were struck soon after Antoninus assumed power and accepted imperial honors. By promoting Faustina alongside his own portraiture, Antoninus revived the Augustan paradigm of the imperial family as a moral and religious exemplar for the Roman state. The issue catalogued as RIC III Antoninus Pius 331 belongs to this initial phase of matrimonial and political messaging, predating the vast outpouring of posthumous Diva Faustina coinage that followed her untimely demise in late AD 140 or 141.

Production and Mint Organization

All regular imperial gold coinage of the early Antonine period was concentrated at the single official imperial mint located in Rome. Production at the capital was organized into distinct officinae, or administrative workshops, tasked with engraving dies, preparing refined gold flans, and striking denominations under strict fiscal supervision. Gold aurei demanded an exceptionally high standard of metal purity, routinely exceeding ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent fine gold. In accordance with the monetary parameters consolidated under the later Flavians and sustained through Trajan and Hadrian, Antonine aurei were struck at a theoretical standard of forty-five to forty-six coins per Roman pound (libra), yielding an intended weight centered near 7.2 to 7.3 grams. Flans were cast as spherical or lenticular blanks, carefully weighed individually prior to striking between hand-held bronze or iron dies. Die axis alignment for Roman imperial gold in this period was consistently executed at either an upright twelve o'clock or an inverted six o'clock position, reflecting the high technical rigor and institutional discipline of the mint master and die-sinkers in the imperial capital.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 331 presents a right-facing, draped bust of the living Augusta. The portraiture is a masterwork of Antonine classicism, characterized by smooth, idealizing facial contours that convey calm dignity, modesty, and imperial majesty. Faustina's elaborate coiffure represents the pinnacle of contemporary Roman aristocratic fashion: her hair is parted and gathered into deeply carved, undulating horizontal waves that wrap around the circumference of the head before being drawn upward and tightly woven into a braided nest or coil crowning the top of her head. This sophisticated hairstyle served as an unmistakable visual marker of Faustina during her lifetime, setting court trends that were imitated by provincial elite women across the empire. The drapery across her shoulders is rendered in delicate, naturalistic folds, resting comfortably around the neckline without revealing excessive ornamentation. The overall composition balances personal portrait likeness with the serene, timeless composure expected of an imperial consort.

Reverse Iconography: Juno Regina

The reverse iconography is dedicated to Juno Regina, the queen of the Capitoline Triad and the divine protectress of Roman womanhood and marriage. On this type, Juno stands facing left, fully draped in an elegant chiton and himation, her head veiled in religious piety. In her extended right hand she holds a patera, a shallow libation dish used in Roman sacrificial rituals, symbolizing active ritual offering and divine receptivity. In her left hand she supports a tall, vertical sceptre, the quintessential emblem of divine sovereignty and monarchical power. At her feet to the left stands a peacock, the sacred theriomorphic companion of Juno, facing left toward the goddess. The peacock was celebrated in ancient thought for its regal splendor and symbolic associations with immortality, vigilance, and the heavenly sphere. By invoking Juno Regina on Faustina's coinage, the mint underscored the divine parallel between the celestial queen and the earthly Augusta, framing Faustina as an imperial patroness of domestic concord, fecundity, and civic religion.

Epigraphy and Legends

The inscriptions on RIC III Antoninus Pius 331 are executed in clean, classic imperial lapidary capitals. The obverse legend reads FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG P P, beginning at the lower left and running clockwise around the portrait. In epigraphic expansion, this translates to Faustina Augusta, Antonini Augusti Patris Patriae: 'Faustina Augusta, [wife] of Antoninus Augustus, Father of the Fatherland.' The formulation is notable for framing Faustina's imperial status both through her personal title of Augusta and through her matrimonial bond to Antoninus Pius. Furthermore, the inclusion of P P (Pater Patriae) reflects Antoninus's acceptance of the title Father of the Fatherland, which ancient historical sources place in early AD 139 after an initial period of polite refusal. The reverse legend, IVNONI REGINAE, is inscribed in the dative case, reading 'To Juno the Queen.' This dedicatory syntax characterizes the type as an explicit vow, offering, or act of religious homage to the goddess on behalf of the empress and the Roman people.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the chronological framework established by Paul L. Strack and codified in Harold Mattingly's work for The Roman Imperial Coinage and the British Museum catalogues, this aureus occupies a precise position in the opening issues of Antoninus Pius. Struck between late AD 138 and AD 139, it falls into the narrow window between Faustina receiving the title Augusta alongside Antoninus's assumption of the title Pater Patriae, and her unexpected death around October AD 140. While identical iconographic schemes pairing Juno Regina with a veiled standing figure and peacock were also struck on contemporary silver denarii and various bronze denominations, RIC III Antoninus Pius 331 designates specifically the gold aureus issue with this complete legend and bust format. It is typologically distinct from earlier issues lacking P P in the obverse legend, as well as from the immense, posthumous DIVA FAVSTINA series that dominated gold production following her deification in AD 141.

Circulation, Hoarding, and Modern Survival

Due to their high intrinsic value and stable purchasing power, aurei of the early Antonine era rarely saw daily market circulation among common citizens. Instead, they served institutional functions: state subventions, gifts to foreign dignitaries, elite dowries, high-value real estate purchases, and banking reserves. Gold coins circulated gently, showing minimal wear compared to silver denarii and bronze sestertii, but were frequently gathered into long-term savings hoards throughout Italy and the secure frontier provinces. When imperial gold left the empire through luxury trade routes toward the east, it was prized exclusively for its weight and metal purity. In modern public and private numismatic cabinets, lifetime aurei of Faustina the Elder are considerably scarcer than her ubiquitous posthumous issues. Die studies of contemporary Antonine gold indicate that while multiple obverse and reverse dies were prepared for the IVNONI REGINAE type, the production window was relatively brief, making well-preserved specimens valuable historical witnesses to the very beginning of the Antonine golden age.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 9, no. 37
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 69, no. 331
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 331. ric.3.ant.331
4. Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichspragung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Stuttgart, 1937