Antoninus Pius? I love that guy!

Latest newp (seller's photos):



Seller's attribution (seems correct to me!):

ANTONINUS PIUS 138-161 A.D. AR denarius,(18mm - 2.75 g). Rome mint. Struck 149 AD.

Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head right / COS IIII

Reverse: Salus standing facing, head turned left, holding a patera in right hand from which she feeds a serpent coiled around an altar, holding a rudder set on a globe in left hand.

Ref: RIC III 181; BMCRE 670; RSC 281.

 

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Wonderful example, Paul.

 

Hi, working on my Identification skills.....I've figured this as an Antoninus Pius Sestertius but when trying to fine tune the year struck, I'm unable to find this reverse or make out the legend. I've read that there are many varieties of his bronze coins. Has anyone seen this type ? Thanks for the help !

 

BEAUtiful OP Coin! Very nice... I only have a couple of Pius:


RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE AR Denarius


RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE BI Tet Alexandria Egypt Dikaiosyne Scales

 

I would say that looks like Mars reverse and may vary well be:
Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius. ANTONINVS P P TR P COS IIII, laureate head right / Mars, naked, advancing right, holding trophy & spear, S-C across fields. Cohen 751.
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s4219.html#RIC_0778

 

I have one A. Pius

 

That looks like a match ! Thank you. I've searched through sites, including Wildwinds for 2 days (guess it's time for stronger glasses).

 

Do you use the search function on Wildwinds (Ctrl-F). If you have any idea at all what you might be looking for, this function will save your eyes and time.

 

The question included a date. COS IIII visible on the end of your obverse legend places the coin after 145 AD and Pius died in 161. We might wish for a finer date range but it is what it is. Especially after rulers had been in power for many years, they tended to stop assuming offices that make dating coins easy. Pius never held a 5th consulship so many coins have that COS IIII date. I will note that the coin comes in sestertius size which should weigh about 22g and as an as at 11g. As 'experienced' as your coin is, I would not expect a sestertius to weigh over 20g and the as could easily be under 10g. From the photo, we can not tell.

 

A-Pius? ... man, how did I miss posting my sweeties?!! (that's so unlike me, eh?)

Oh well, better late than never (right?)

 

I tried the search by "Emperor" then looked through all the Thumbnail images trying for a match. Is there a way to refine that search ? For example; where it will show all the Antoninus Pius coins that contain "S C" ?

 

LOL; I like the amused smile he has in these two !

 

You can try doing a "find on page" search, which is a browser function. I use Chrome and a Mac; the shortcut is Command + F, which brings up a little search box. Explorer and other browsers probably have a similar function.

"Find on page" is a big help on Wildwinds. Usually, though, my first stop for ID and attribution is CNG's archives (it's the "Research" button on their website).

 

Yes, but the search default would probably have to be narrowed more than "SC", but you could try that. Use the Ctrl F and try searching.

 

ahaha, I totally agree, especially on the scales example .... yah, it looks like he's having a great ol' time ruling the Roman Empire (that's why I like him => he had a nice ride, lived to 70 and died of natural causes)

=> he must have been doin' something right?!

Good times

=> I would have loved being A-Pius

 

Excellent eyes ! I couldn't make that out so clearly (so I may still need those stronger glasses). Thank you for the date info.

The coin is pretty thick (about 4mm) and the weight showed approx 22 g on my scale.

 

I see what you mean, "SC" showed up a lot, but when i tried "MARS" i got a more narrow range within the A.Pius search. This will make it a lot easier for me for my next ID try. Thanks !

 

Good luck. I find I have fun trying to attribute tough(er) coins.