Faustina the Elder Gold Aureus RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B

Monetary and Consecration Context

The death of Annia Galeria Faustina, known to history as Faustina the Elder, in the autumn of AD 141 prompted an unprecedented outpouring of public honours organized by Emperor Antoninus Pius and formally decreed by the Roman Senate. Having reigned alongside Antoninus since his accession in AD 138, Faustina was promptly deified as Diva Faustina, initiating one of the most prolific and prolonged consecratio coinages in Roman imperial history. While vast quantities of silver denarii and bronze sestertii flooded everyday circulation to advertise her new divine status across the empire, select emissions in gold were reserved for higher-tier ceremonial distribution and treasury wealth storage. The aureus RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B belongs to the initial phase of this massive commemorative program. In the monetary hierarchy of the high Roman Empire, the aureus functioned as the anchor of the currency system, equivalent to 25 silver denarii or 100 bronze sestertii. Aurei struck under Antoninus Pius maintained a high degree of metallic purity, regularly exceeding 98 to 99 percent fine gold, and adhered to an established weight standard established after Nero and stabilized under the Flavians and Trajan. High-denomination gold issues carrying explicit consecration types reinforced imperial legitimacy among the senatorial aristocracy, senior administrative officers, and provincial elites, conveying both dynastic continuity and senatorial harmony.

Mint Organization and Production Standards

All imperial gold coinages of Antoninus Pius during this period were struck exclusively at the central mint of Rome. The Rome mint operated as a highly centralized, bureaucratic institution divided into specialized workshops or officinae, which coordinated the engraving of dies, precise weighing of flans, and striking of precious metals under the supervision of equestrian procurators. The production of aurei required rigorous metallurgical controls. Blank flans were individually weighed before striking to maintain adherence to the Antonine weight standard, which aimed for an average between 7.20 and 7.35 grams, corresponding to approximately 44 to 45 coins per Roman pound (libra). The dies for RIC III 390B were engraved with exceptional artistic refinement, showcasing the finest portraiture and complex compositional skill of the Rome mint's premier engravers. The die alignment on contemporary imperial aurei was typically executed with regular vertical or inverted axes (commonly 6 or 12 o'clock), ensuring consistent aesthetic and structural quality across the output of the mint workshops.

Obverse Iconography and Portrait Style

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B presents a right-facing, draped bust of the deified Empress Faustina the Elder. The portrait is executed in the classicizing, dignified manner characteristic of the early Antonine court style, idealizing Faustina's features while preserving her identifiable facial structure. The drapery is arranged carefully over her shoulders, framing the neck and accentuating the courtly decorum expected of an imperial consort. A central feature of the portraiture is Faustina's elaborate signature hairstyle. The hair is parted, waved horizontally in intricate undulating ridges and multiple braided loops around the circumference of the head, and drawn upward to terminate in a tall, coiled chignon pinned firmly at the top of the crown. This distinctive coiffure had become an iconic imperial fashion throughout Roman aristocratic circles during her lifetime and remained an unmistakable badge of her public image after her death. The portrait is unadorned by a veil or diadem on this particular variety, presenting the empress in pristine mortal beauty elevated to divine immortality.

Reverse Iconography: The Elephant Tensio and Carpentum

The reverse design of RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B is a complex ceremonial scene depicting an imperial tensio or processional chariot. An enthroned statue of Faustina the Elder is seated within an ornate covered ceremonial carriage (carpentum) mounted upon a wheeled cart moving toward the left. The empress is depicted holding ears of grain in one hand and a tall torch in the other. The vehicle is pulled by two majestic elephants, each directed by an individual driver seated upon the animal's neck or back. This iconography directly documents the lavish funerary ceremonies and circus processions instituted for the deified empress. Following her consecration, the Senate decreed that a golden statue of Faustina be carried into the Circus Maximus in a special elephant-drawn carriage during public spectacles, mirroring honours previously bestowed upon divinized emperors and select imperial women such as Livia. The visual attributes held by the statue deliberately assimilate Faustina to the goddess Ceres, the deity of agricultural bounty, maternal care, and the underworld mysteries. The corn-ears denote abundance and public nourishment, while the torch symbolizes the eternal search of Ceres and Faustina's ascent into celestial illumination.

Epigraphic Formulations and Senatorial Authority

The legends on RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B are concise yet laden with political and religious significance. The obverse legend reads DIVA AVGVSTA FAVSTINA, struck continuously along the perimeter without interruption. The use of the initial title DIVA formally designates Faustina as a recognized goddess of the Roman state pantheon, an honour granted posthumously by formal senatorial decree. The inclusion of AVGVSTA reaffirms her elevated status as the premier woman of the imperial house during her lifetime, retaining that rank in the divine realm. The reverse inscription reads EX SENATVS CONSVLTO, situated in the exergue or encircling the field. The appearance of this formula on imperial gold is exceptionally noteworthy. Under the Principate, the formula Senatus Consulto (or EX S C) was normally the exclusive domain of base-metal bronze and orichalcum coinages minted ostensibly under senatorial administration. Its explicit placement on an imperial gold aureus struck under the emperor's fiscal jurisdiction serves as an unmistakable demonstration of senatorial initiative. It underscores that the processional carriage, the elephant escort, and the assimilation to Ceres were decreed directly by the Senate as a supreme gesture of gratitude and devotion to both Faustina and Antoninus Pius.

Typology and Chronological Placement

In the standard classification of Roman imperial coins, this specific type is catalogued as RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B, corresponding to Harold Mattingly's arrangement in the Roman Imperial Coinage corpus. In Paul Strack's comprehensive study of the Antonine mint, closely related reverse compositions are grouped among the earliest consecratio emissions struck immediately after Faustina's death in late AD 141. The issuance of this type was concentrated in the initial period of grief and public apotheosis before being replaced by later, broader series bearing legends such as CONSECRATIO, AETERNITAS, and AVGVSTA over the course of the 140s and 150s AD. Numismatists distinguish RIC III 390B from closely related companion types by specific legend arrangements and vehicle compositions. Companion aurei feature variations where the car is drawn by two or four horses, or where the reverse legend simply reads CONSECRATIO without the explicit EX SENATVS CONSVLTO formula. Furthermore, parallel types exist in silver denarii and bronze sestertii, though the execution on this gold aureus represents the highest tier of die engraving. Because the issue was struck to commemorate a specific funeral ceremony and the initial dedication of the tensio in the circus games of AD 141, production was brief and tightly delimited.

Circulation, Function, and Preservation

As a commemorative gold denomination, RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B saw a vastly different circulatory life compared to base-metal or silver issues of Faustina. The substantial purchasing power of a single aureus meant that such coins rarely circulated through ordinary market transactions. Instead, they were employed for high-value tax payments, diplomatic distributions, imperial donatives to military officers or civic magistrates, and private wealth accumulation. Because gold coins possessed intrinsic bullion value, they were frequently hoarded during times of fiscal or political anxiety. When preserved in coin hoards, specimens of this type often exhibit minimal wear, pointing to prolonged storage in aristocratic or merchant coffers. However, because subsequent monetary reforms and later imperial melting removed substantial portions of early Antonine gold from circulation in later centuries, survivors of RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B remain comparatively scarce across public and private numismatic collections today.

References

1. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. Faustina I, Consecration Issues
2. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 73, no. 390B
3. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 390B. ric.3.ant.390B
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. Diva Faustina