Diva Faustina Silver Denarius, RIC III Antoninus Pius 343

Monetary Context and Denominational Role

During the reign of Antoninus Pius, the silver denarius served as the principal silver denomination of the Roman Empire, anchoring urban market transactions, state administrative disbursements, and military pay throughout the provinces. The monetary system maintained the framework established by the Julio-Claudian emperors, modified by the Flavian and Trajanic reforms. The denarius circulated alongside fractional bronze and brass coinages, such as the sestertius, dupondius, and as, and was subordinated to the gold aureus at the fixed tariff of twenty-five denarii to one aureus. In the mid-second century AD, the denarius maintained an average weight standard near 3.2 to 3.4 grams, with an intrinsic silver fineness generally ranging between seventy-five and eighty percent, reflecting a modest continuation of gradual debasement patterns observed since the late first century. The striking of RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 occurred against this backdrop of fiscal stability. When Annia Galeria Faustina died in the autumn of AD 140, the Senate decreed her immediate deification (consecratio). Antoninus Pius capitalized on this decree by launching an unprecedentedly large and diverse commemorative coinage in silver, gold, and base metals. The denarius was the primary vehicle for wide distribution, ensuring that the visual program of Diva Faustina penetrated every geographic region and socioeconomic stratum of the empire.

Production, Minting, and Standards

Production of RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 was executed entirely at the principal imperial mint in Rome. The mint operated with organized workshops, known as officinae, which managed the complex logistical process of melting, alloying, casting planchets, and striking coin blanks with hand-cut iron dies. Planchets for silver denarii were cast in open moulds or spherical blanks, then hot-struck between engraved dies using heavy hand hammers. The metallurgic analysis of silver issues from early in the consecration period demonstrates high consistency in blank preparation, maintaining the typical Antonine diameter range of approximately 17 to 19 millimeters. Although official weights cluster around 3.2 grams, observed individual surviving specimens vary due to standard ancient minting tolerances and subsequent circulation wear. Dies for the architectural reverse were cut with exceptional detail by the skilled celators of the urban mint. The complex perspective required to compress a grand monumental facade, statuary, and roof acroteria into a die flan under two centimeters wide highlights the advanced technological capability of the Roman mint at this peak of imperial administration.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 displays the right-facing bust of Faustina the Elder, draped in a classical mantle. Her portraiture captures the mature, serene naturalism characteristic of Antonine court art, devoid of the overt Hellenistic dramatization of previous eras. The most distinctive feature of the portrait is the empress's elaborate coiffure, which had already defined her lifetime portraits and became iconic in her posthumous cult imagery. The hair is parted, carefully waved in horizontal parallel registers along the temples, and gathered from the back and sides to be drawn tightly upward into a high, coiled plait centered atop the crown of the head. Pearls or thin bands frequently secure the braids, expressing dignity, traditional Roman modesty (pudicitia), and matronly virtue. By omitting mortal titles or references to marriage in the legend, the portrait strips away mortal administrative trappings to elevate Faustina into a timeless, divine patroness of the Antonine dynasty.

Reverse Iconography: The Temple of Diva Faustina

The reverse of RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 presents a detailed architectural rendering of the Temple of the Deified Faustina (Aedes Divae Faustinae) erected on the northern side of the Via Sacra in the Forum Romanum. The engraving depicts the hexastyle facade of the temple, showing six Corinthian columns elevated on a high podium approached by a central staircase. Within the central intercolumniation, the open cella reveals the seated cult statue of Diva Faustina, holding a sceptre or patera, which served as the physical focus of the empress's cult. The triangular pediment above the entablature is ornamented with sculpted relief compositions, commonly interpreted as mythological or sacrificial scenes. The roofline is surmounted by acroteria: flanking statues at the eaves and a central quadriga group at the apex. This architectural coin issue belongs to a long-standing Roman tradition of celebrating state-funded monuments through currency. The temple survived through antiquity and was later preserved by its conversion into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda, allowing modern scholars to confirm the broad topographical accuracy of the numismatic representation against archaeological remains.

Epigraphy and Legends

The legends of RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 are concise, formal, and strictly ideological. The obverse legend reads DIVA FAVSTINA, running circularly clockwise along the border. The title Diva confirms her formal consecration decreed by the Senate, proclaiming her transition into the divine sphere. Unlike lifetime issues that style her as FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG P P, this posthumous legend deliberately focuses exclusively on her sanctified persona. The reverse inscription reads AED DIV FAVSTINAE, an abbreviation for 'Aedes Divae Faustinae' (The Temple of the Deified Faustina). This legend identifies the depicted monument without administrative or dating formulas. The epigraphy utilizes square-cut Roman monumental capitals, typical of mid-second-century imperial die cutting. The letterforms are well-spaced, with crisp triangular serifs, matching the dedicatory inscriptions carved into imperial marble monuments across Rome.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification scheme of The Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC), volume III, catalog entry 343 occupies a prominent position within the early consecration series of Faustina the Elder. The earliest deification issues began immediately in AD 141 and continued to be struck in varied waves throughout the remainder of Antoninus Pius's reign, which ended in AD 161. Numismatic sequencing by modern scholars, including Harold Mattingly and Martin Beckmann, places the AED DIV FAVSTINAE temple types in the opening phase of this production, directly coinciding with the decree for the construction and the initial dedication ceremonies in AD 141. RIC 343 is part of a deliberate program that included companion issues in gold (aurei) and aes (sestertii, dupondii, and asses) bearing identical or closely related temple imagery. While minor stylistic variations exist across individual die carvings, such as subtle differences in pedimental figures, column spacing, and drapery folds, RIC 343 is defined by the hexastyle temple, seated cult statue, and specific reverse legend formula AED DIV FAVSTINAE.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Legacy

RIC III Antoninus Pius 343 circulated extensively across the Roman Empire, as evidenced by its regular presence in coin hoards discovered throughout Britain, Gaul, the Rhine frontier, the Danube provinces, and the Mediterranean basin. Because the denarii of Antoninus Pius and Diva Faustina maintained a reliable intrinsic silver content, they were trusted by both soldiers and civilians. Hoard data indicate that Antonine denarii remained in active commercial circulation for decades, frequently surviving alongside Severan and third-century issues down to the mid-third century AD, by which time wear had smoothed their high-relief architectural details. The temple depicted on the reverse achieved an enduring legacy: after Antoninus Pius died in AD 161, the temple was re-dedicated to both the emperor and empress, and an additional line was carved into the architrave. RIC 343 preserves the original appearance of the monument when it stood solely in honor of the deified Faustina.

References

1. Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces. pp. 22-38
2. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, Vol. IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. pp. 52-54, nos. 339-344
3. Roman Coins from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Western Empire. pp. 110-115
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC III Antoninus Pius 343. ric.3.ant.343
5. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. pp. 13-14 (s.v. Aedes Divae Faustinae)
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. p. 71, no. 343