Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161). AV aureus (20mm, 7.16 gm, 6h). NGC XF 5/5 - 3/5, edge marks. Rome, AD 143-144. ANTONINVS AVG PI-VS P P TR P COS III, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right / IMPERA-TOR II, Victory standing facing, head right, transverse trophy in both hands. RIC III 109b. Calicó 1547. Though usually held as a tranquil interlude in Roman history, the reign of Antoninus Pius was not free of warfare and conquest. In about AD 141, perhaps to bolster his military bona fides, Antoninus ordered that the Roman frontier in Britain, then marked by Hadrian's Wall, be moved northward. The governor, Q. Lollius Urbicus, subjugated several semi-independent tribes, including the Votadini and Selgovae. Starting in AD 142, a new wall was built about 90 miles north of Hadrian's Wall. It spanned the distance between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, about 40 miles. Like Hadrian's Wall, the new wall was to be built of stone; however this plan was soon abandoned and the barrier was instead built up of cut chunks of turf, topped by a wooden palisade. Forts were built into the wall every two miles, with small fortlets called "milecastles" spaced between them. The subjugation of the Northern British tribes led the Senate to acclaim Antoninus as Imperator (victorious general) II in AD 143, an event marked by the issuance of this coin depicting winged Victory holding a trophy symbolic of military success.

HID09801242017

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