The Roman Empire
Antoninus Pius augustus, 138 – 161
Aureus 140, AV 7.38 g. ANTONINVS AVG – PIVS P P TR P COS III Laureate head of Antoninus Pius l. Rev. AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG P II F COS Bare head of Marcus Aurelius r. C 16. RIC 421 var. (M. Aurelius bust draped and cuirassed). Calicó 1733 (these dies).
Very rare and in unusually fine condition for this difficult issue. Two lovely
portraits well centred on a broad flan, about extremely fine Although Antoninus Pius succeeded Hadrian as emperor of Rome, he truly was third or fourth down the line of preference. Hadrian’s first choice as successor was the nobleman Aelius, who was hailed Caesar in 136, but died unexpectedly after a year in office. Hadrian then determined he would pass the throne to Aelius’ son Lucius Verus – then only seven years old – and to the 17-year-old Marcus Aurelius, who was a distant relative and a close companion. In truth the middleaged Antoninus Pius was merely a surrogate emperor in the eyes of Hadrian, and he remained truthful to his promise to act as guardian for Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Indeed, he was so faithful to the memory of Hadrian that he earned his surname "Pius" because he fought so diligently to convince the senate to deify Hadrian. Over the years of his own principate, Antoninus Pius groomed both as his eventual successors, and thus continued the tradition of adoptive succession. He enjoyed a productive and mostly peaceful reign, and unlike Hadrian, who travelled extensively, Antoninus Pius never once left Italy in his twenty-two years on the throne. Unlike the great variety of Hadrian’s coinage on which he celebrates his extensive travels, Antoninus’ reverse types are localized, and on occasion they reflect the attention he paid to the betterment of Rome and Italy. This aureus is one of his more interesting types, as it bears the portrait of Antoninus Pius on the obverse and that of his elder heir Marcus Aurelius on the reverse.