Antoninus Pius..big And Small

Here's my first ever humble Sestertius
When you read the dimensions of a coin, you know its big but in hand-Wow! These are gonna be addictive
When your on a tight budget like me, picking up highly detailed big bronzes can be very expensive. But if your careful and can accept coins that have issues they can be acquired at very reasonable prices...This one set me back less than $50 with postage and has a nice portrait with the emperor's name visible with a lovely IMO patina. At the moment I still cant get over the wow factor of size and weight and keep picking this one up just to hold....Paul
The denarius is one of my first I ever bought too..
Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) AR denarius,17.8mm, struck AD 145-161. Rome mint.
Obverse..ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP,(Antoninus Augustus Pius Father of the people) laureate head right
Rverse..TR POT COS IIII,(Tribune of the people 4 times Consul) Liberalitas standing left, holding abacus and cornucopiae, LIB IIII across the fields.
RIC 155 type 1

And the Sestertius..
ANTONINUS PIUS. 138-161 AD. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 26.75 g.)
Struck 159/160 AD.
Obverse..ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII, laureate head right
Rev. PIETATI AVG COS IIII SC, Pietas standing left holding globe, Faustina Junior as Pietas standing left, between Faustina Minima, Lucilla & holding baby Fadilla.
RIC III 1031
Near VF,
Brown patina some green.
Please feel free to post any big bronzes of AP.....Paul

 

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That's a lovely sestertius of Pius! The economy was good and political conditions were stable during the Antonine era and coins circulated for decades. As a result, there are many of these attractive but worn coins available and they don't cost much. It's one of the reasons I became attracted to the Antonine dynasty in the first place.

Here's a couple of Antoninus Pius sestertii from my collection:

 

Beautiful apple green patina RC
I've lived in many countries around the world and have always guaged the cost of living on the price of the bread so does anyone know how far a Sestertius would go at that time??
These big chunks were 4 to a Denari they must of had some serious purses!

 

Coincidentally, the first sestertius I ever bought was a very similar A-Pi. It's still one of my favorites.


ANTONINUS PIUS
Orichalcum Sestertius. 27.24g, 32mm. Rome mint, AD 158-159. RIC III 1002; Cohen 620. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXII, laureate head right. R: PIETATI AVG COS IIII, Pietas standing facing, head left, globe extended in right, child in left arm, flanked by a child on each side at her feet; S - C across field.

 

Yes, they are addicting! You have a very nice new coin!

To quote our own Doug, (during the first and second century) "Comparing today's prices for bread at the supermarket might suggest an as was worth a bit over a dollar US placing the denarius at about $20."
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/worth.html

Here's my only AP sestertius (an ex Bing):

 

Nice new pickup...sestertii are a lot of fun to have, and you can find some good ones for cheap. Here is a budget As of A. Pius, and a sestertius of his daughter Faustina, which was the first sestertius I ever bought.

Antoninus Pius, AE As, (27mm, 11.8g), Struck at Rome, 140-144 AD. ANTONINUS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right/ Rev. SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC, inside of wreath. RIC 827a.


Faustina II, Struck circa AD 161-176. Rome, AE Sestertius (29mm., 24.44g), FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / Ceres seated left on chest, holding corn-ears and long torch.

 

Nice pick-up. I'd spotted and admired that sestertius myself, but declined to buy my first Nerva coin which should be with me in a few days. I'm glad it's gone to a good home.

 

One of my favorites is this Dacia variant sestertius.

 

Archeocultura, Your sestertius is a real beauty ! The emerald green patina gives it a gemstone like quality. I like the emperor's heavenward gaze too . Roman Collector's sestertius has a magnificent patina also. European collectors drool over colorful bronze coins like these.

 

One of my AP sestertius with Indulgentia. Eckhel observes that "by this coin the words of Capitolinus (Ad indulgentias pronissimum) are confirmed, asserting that Antoninus Pius was eminently disposed to acts of indulgence and favor."

Sestertius, Rome, 153 - 154 AD
33 x 32 mm, 24.85 g
RIC III 914; BMCRE 1939; Cohen 454;
Ob.: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P COS XVII Laureate head right, draped on left shoulder
Rev.: INDVLGENTIA AVG COS IIII Indulgentia seated left holding transverse scepter in l. hand, extending right hand; in exergue S C

​

 

I mentioned that prices vary from decade to decade and place to place just as it does now. With inflation since I wrote that piece, I might say a denarius is closer to $40 now but bread costs less a Aldi's in Chester VA than it does at a custom bakery in London.

 

Nice set - and I like the photo - here's a decent and heavy in hand Sestertius under $40.


Antoninus Pius, 138-161 AD, AE Sestertius, Felicitas with capricorn reverse
Obv ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS IIII, Laureate head right.
Rev FELICITAS AVG / S - C in field, Felicitas standing left, holding capricorn and long winged caduceus
Ref: RIC 770.
Size: 32.4mm 22.18g

Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD) and Marcus Aurelius, AR Denarius (17 mm, 3.40 g). Rome, 140-144 AD.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, Laureate head of Antoninus Pius right.
Rev: AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F COS, Bare head of Marcus Caesar right
Ref: BMC 155; RIC 417A.
Size: 17.5mm 3.22g

 

Nice coins - that sestertius is just how I like them - some wear, interesting, mellow colors, and inexpensive.

Here's a big (27 grams) green monster I recently got -



Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
(145-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[ANTONIN]VS AVG PIVS PP[TRP C]OS IIII, laureate head right / [SALVS AVG] S-C, Salus standing right feeding serpent coiled around altar and holding rudder on globe.
RIC 784; BMC 1715; Coh. 718.
(27.44 grams / 29 mm)

 

One very interesting sestertius of Pius as Caesar under Hadrian. The Concordia symbolises the future concord between Pius and Hadrian. The latter would die within weeks after the issue of this coin. Notice the statue of Spes beside the chair. and the cornucopiae underneath.

 

Nice!

 

Some great coins have been shown!!
Being an avid silver collector whats really blown me away is the difference in patinas that can be found....Something for everyone....I'm hooked!

 

Antoninus Pius? I love that guy! Lots more cool A-P coins in that thread.

 

Antoninus Pius Av Aureus Rv. Emperor togate stg l holding globe RIC 226 152-153 A.D. 7.28 grms 18 mm

 

That's interesting, but I've also read recently that the Antoninus coins as Caesar may also be from the period immediately after Hadrian's death when Antoninus refused to be named Imperator unless Hadrian was deified, and then was given the name Pius and Imperator when the senate relented and agreed to deify him.

I've been trying to track down the research which led to either conclusion about these coins, but I've not found anything yet. Great coin btw.