Divus Antoninus Pius AV Aureus. Rome, after AD 161. DIVVS ΛNTONINVS, bare head to right / CONSECRΛTIO, pyre of four tiers, decorated with hangings and garlands, surmounted by facing quadriga. RIC III 435 (Aurelius); C. 163; BMCRE 55 (Aurelius); Biaggi 792; Calicó 1491. 6.77g, 19mm, 6h.

Extremely Fine.

Acquired from Classical Numismatic Group.

Imperial consecration ceremonies - funerals for emperors who were being deified - were spectacular affairs. A huge and elaborate pyre (or 'ustrinum') was constructed like that on the reverse of the present coin. Above the festooned podium forming the first tier, the second tier contained a chamber, accessed by doors which you can see on the present coin, in which body of the emperor would be placed; tiers two and three were decorated with niches containing statues, and the fourth tier held up a vast wax effigy of the deceased emperor driving a triumphal quadriga, flanked by large torches. When the preliminaries were completed, the pyre would be lit and an eagle released from within it to symbolise the soul of the emperor taking its place amongst the gods in the heavens. The ritual of these ceremonies was often depicted on substantial coinage issues struck by the subsequent emperors in memory and honour of the deification of their predecessor: such coins frequently depict the eagle itself, often physically carrying the emperor skyward, the effigy as it processed to the ceremony on a quadriga of elephants, or the funeral pyre itself, as here.