Diva Faustina Silver Denarius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a

Monetary Context and Consecration Framework

During the middle Antonine period, the silver denarius served as the foundational unit for day-to-day state expenditures, military disbursements, and inter-provincial commercial transactions throughout the Roman Mediterranean. The standard established under Trajan and maintained under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius held the denarius at an approximate fineness of between 80 and 85 percent silver, struck at a theoretical norm around 3.2 to 3.4 grams, or roughly ninety-six coins to the Roman pound. When Empress Faustina the Elder died in the autumn of 141 AD, Antoninus Pius responded not only with extensive public memorials, temples, and charitable foundations such as the Puellae Faustinianae, but also with an unprecedented volume of commemorative coinage. The Senate immediately voted her consecratio, officially transforming her public persona into Diva Faustina. Denarii such as RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a formed the primary high-volume vehicle for distributing this new imperial cult iconography across every social stratum. Unlike transitory donatives or base-metal local issues, silver denarii produced in the central capital circulated universally, ensuring that the deceased empress's elevation into the Roman pantheon became a permanent element of civic and monetary consciousness.

Production Standards and Mint Operation

The entire production of RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a was concentrated at the central imperial mint in the city of Rome. Operating under the administrative oversight of the imperial treasury, the Rome mint employed experienced die-engravers who maintained remarkable uniformity across large numbers of simultaneously working officinae. Blanks were cast in individualized molds or cut from poured silver ingots, then brought to red heat before being hand-hammered between upper and lower dies. The metallurgical profile of Antonine denarii struck around 141 AD shows careful control of weight distribution, with individual surviving specimens commonly clustering between 3.0 and 3.5 grams with a diameter averaging 17 to 19 millimeters. Die alignment during this era was generally regular, typically favoring an upright or inverted orientation near twelve or six o'clock, although slight rotational variation occurred routinely during manual striking. The extraordinary volume of Diva Faustina denarii required multiple die pairs, leading to subtle nuances in portrait relief, drapery folds, and lettering execution while rigidly adhering to the standard imperial prototype.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a presents a right-facing, draped bust of the deified empress. The portraiture exemplifies the refined classicizing realism championed by Antonine court sculptors. Faustina's hair is rendered in her celebrated signature style, meticulously parted and waved into several horizontal tiers or braided loops encircling the head, gathered smoothly toward the crown, and woven into an elaborate coiled chignon fastened securely at the top. Her drapery wraps across the shoulders, finished along the neckline with clean linear folds that impart depth and aristocratic restraint. The physiognomy presents a calm, idealised maternal countenance, combining recognizable individual features with the serene impassivity expected of an imperial divinity. The omission of a veil on the obverse of this specific type presents Faustina in an accessible, regal aspect, contrasting with later, more mournful veiled issues, and projecting an aura of celestial peace.

Reverse Allegory and Celestial Symbolism

The reverse iconography features a standing female personification facing left, draped in a stola and mantle. Her most prominent attribute is an arched veil that billows out in a dynamic circular arc behind her head, a visual motif known in classical art as the velificatio, often symbolic of celestial transit, astral divinity, or aura. With her left hand, the figure holds or steadies the edge of the veil at shoulder height. On her extended right hand, she balances an unadorned spherical globe, the quintessential Roman emblem of universal dominion and cosmic eternity. While Harold Mattingly in Roman Imperial Coinage suggested an identification of Providentia, denoted by divine foresight and the cosmic orb, the accompanying reverse legend specifically designates the personification as Aeternitas. Other scholars have interpreted the figure as the personified soul of Diva Faustina herself ascending through the heavens or as Aeternitas adopting attributes of cosmic governance. The composition creates an impression of ethereal motion, celebrating both imperial continuity and the eternal dwelling of the empress among the gods.

Epigraphy and Inscriptional Analysis

The inscriptions on RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a are notable for their brevity and thematic clarity, standing in marked contrast to the lengthy titular formulas found on earlier imperial coinage. The obverse legend reads DIVA FAVSTINA, struck continuously along the perimeter from lower left to lower right without breaks or internal punctuation. The title Diva confirms her post-mortem status, immediately signaling to the bearer that the coin honors an empress enrolled among the state divinities. The reverse inscription consists solely of the dative or nominative noun AETERNITAS, running along the left and upper field. Rendered in well-proportioned, serifed Roman capitals, the epigraphy reflects the high calligraphic standards of the Antonine capital. The pairing of DIVA FAVSTINA with AETERNITAS concisely encapsulates the theological message: Faustina's earthly virtues have earned her a share in divine eternity, which in turn reinforces the sacred, enduring legitimacy of Antoninus Pius and the Antonine succession.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference work Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III, Harold Mattingly classified this denarius as number 351a under the Diva Faustina section of Antoninus Pius's reign. The suffix 'a' distinguishes the un編veiled portrait variant from number 351b, which features a veiled bust of the empress paired with the identical reverse. In his specialized study of Faustina's posthumous coinage, Martin Beckmann established that Antoninus Pius organized the consecration series into clear chronological sequences based on hoard evidence, die links, and hairstyle evolution. Issue 351a belongs to the immediate aftermath of her deification in late 141 AD, forming part of the initial phase characterized by the straightforward DIVA FAVSTINA obverse formula and the early adoption of Aeternitas themes. While some Diva Faustina reverse types continued to be produced down into the 150s AD, this early series established the primary visual vocabulary that would define imperial consecration imagery for decades.

Hoard Evidence and Economic Circulation

Denarii bearing the name and image of Diva Faustina achieved immense monetary distribution and remained in widespread circulation long after 141 AD. Because Antoninus Pius maintained a reliable standard of silver purity, Diva Faustina denarii were rarely culled or hoarded preferentially over contemporary issues. Archaeological finds, such as major hoards discovered in Britannia, Germania, Gaul, and the Danubian frontier, reveal that specimens of RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a routinely circulated alongside earlier Flavian, Trajanic, and Hadrianic silver, as well as subsequent issues of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Wear patterns recorded in third-century hoard deposits confirm that many of these denarii continued to pass from hand to hand for six to eight decades, remaining in active commercial usage until the monetary debasements of the Severan dynasty and the mid-third century crisis prompted their systematic melting or concealment.

References

1. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces (Numismatic Studies 26). pp. 25-54
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 351a. ric.3.ant.351a
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 69, no. 351a
4. Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts, Teil III: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Antoninus Pius. pp. 82-101