A.PIUS Sestertius correct attribution?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Mike Margolis, Jul 17, 2020.

  1. Mike Margolis

    Mike Margolis Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
    Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius
    Rome Mint 145-161 AD
    Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P Head of Antoninus Pius, laureate, right
    Reverse: Securitas, seated left, holding sceptre and resting left elbow on cornucopiae, which forms arm of chair
    References: RIC 967 var (Obverse legends) Rare
    Size: 33mm, 26.59g
    I cannot find this on RIC online with this obverse legend for RIC 967.
    On acsearch there is an RIC 548 that matches the obverse legend but the SC is in the left and right fields and not in the exergue. I think I see an "S" on this one in the exergue?
    Here is the acsearch specimen:[​IMG]
    ANTONIN LE PIEUX(25/02/138-7/03/161)Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius AntoninusAuguste(10/07/138-7/03/161) Sesterce, (GB, ئ 33) N° v29_0202
    Date : 139
    Nom de l'atelier : Rome
    Métal : cuivre
    Diamètre : 32,5mm
    Axe des coins : 1h.
    Poids : 26,09g.
    Degré de rareté : R3
    Etat de conservation : TTB Prix de départ : 180 € Estimation : 300 €
    Prix réalisé : 180 € Nombres d'offres : 1 Offre maximum : 182 €
    Commentaires sur l'état de conservation : Exemplaire sur un flan épais. Beau portrait. Revers tout à fait inhabitel, servi par une jolie patine vert foncé épaisse. N° dans les ouvrages de référence : C.867 - RIC.548 - BMC/RE.- - SIR.423 - RCV.4239 var. (825$)
    Titulature avers : ANTONINVS - AVG PIVS P P.
    RIC 967 on acsearch:[​IMG]

    Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 30mm, 22.18 g 11), Rome, 156-157. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II Laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder. Rev. TR POT XX COS IIII / S C Securitas seated left, holding a scepter in her right hand and resting her left elbow on a cornucopiae, which forms the arm of her throne. BMC 2016 (Justitia). Cohen 1008. RIC 967. Attractive brown-green patina. Obverse slightly off center, otherwise , good very fine.
    Any ideas on the correct attribution?
    Post your favorite A.Pius sestertius or denarius
     
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  3. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    The only sestertius with the ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P obverse legend and a seated female figure with a cornucopiae is RIC 548, p.101. Here is the example in the British Museum:

    canvas.png
     
  4. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Here's my favorite Antoninus Pius sestertius:

    [​IMG]
    Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
    Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.11 g, 29.4 mm, 12 h.
    Rome, AD 142.
    Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right.
    Rev: ANNONA AVG S C, Annona standing right, between modius and prow, holding corn ears and out-turned cornucopiae.
    Refs: RIC 597; BMCRE 1228; Cohen 37; RCV 4147; UCR 502.
     
  5. Mike Margolis

    Mike Margolis Well-Known Member

    Thank you very much RC! Knew you would know.
     
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  6. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    I think I have one of these - not sure about legend variations because a lot of the legends are missing on mine. The obverse legends do seem different - note the way the AVG is spaced behind the head on mine; it is in front of the head on the OP. Maybe I got the attribution wrong?

    This is my first AP sestertius, I think. A chair made out of cornucopiae sounds uncomfortable to me:

    Antoninus Pius - Sest. Securitas July 2017 (0).jpg
    Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
    (156-157 A.D.)
    Rome Mint

    ANTONINVS AVG P[IVS PP IMP II], laureate head right / TR PO[T XX COS IIII], Securitas seated left on chair formed by two cornucopiae, with sceptre. SC in exergue.
    RIC 967; BMC 2016.
    (26.47 grams / 30 mm)
     
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  7. Mike Margolis

    Mike Margolis Well-Known Member

    Beautiful color on your coin. The chair is convenient in also being the pantry. Maybe also implying trust in the "seat" of authority to provide sustenance and prosperity. Close also to @Roman Collector 's Anona aspect. His has her standing between "measure" and "delivery" of everyone's needs. Like don't worry amazon will deliver all you need including toilet paper.
     
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  8. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    This Antoninus Pius sestertius came cheap but provided me with days of fun trying to identify it as it was not listed in the RIC or Cohen Roman coin catalogs.

    [​IMG]
    Antoninus Pius Sestertius Dacia
    Obverse: Laureate head right / ANTONINVS AVG PIUS
    Reverse: Dacia standing left, holding crown and sickle / DACIA round edge, S.C. in field
    COS II in exergue
    Size: 32 mm, thickness: 4 mm, weight: 23.58 gm
    Struck: AD 139 Rome mint

    I found it in a 1937 German catalog of which the University of California had a copy,
    Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahrhunderts III Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit Antoninus Pius
    by Paul L. Strack, Stuttgart, W. Kohlhammer, 1937

    This coin was part of a set issued in AD 139 depicting Roman provinces offering presents to the new Emperor Antoninus.

    :)
     
  9. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Cool. This is noted in BMCRE4 as a note on p. 189:

    Capture 1.JPG

    I think BMC errs in describing the object as a "box"; rather, I believe it's supposed to be a mural crown. Here's the Strack plate coin, by the way:

    Capture 2.JPG
     
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  10. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    Here is my photograph of the coin from the Strack catalog:

    [​IMG]
    Strack Antoninus Pius Plate IX Number 786

    Strack stated that examples were in the Vatican and Leningrad Hermitage collections in the 1930's.

    On my coin I am not sure what is below the "curved sword" on the reverse.

    By the way, Antoninus Pius, being the nice guy that he was, returned most of the presents to the provinces.

    :)
     
  11. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

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  12. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    I'm so glad you posted this coin (and thanks to RC for the additional information) - this aurum coronarium issue is a very interesting series.

    This past month I got one from a European eBay seller, bringing the examples in my collection to two. They are both in poor shape and in both cases, the seller didn't attribute them, so I got them cheap - the attributed and/or nicer ones are out of my price range.

    Here is David Sear on the issue:

    "Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius also issued a 'provincial' series of coins, in this case to celebrate the remission of half of the aurum coronarium ('crown-gold'). This was a demand made by the emperor on the communities of the Empire (and sometimes even on foreign states) at the time of his accession and on certain anniversaries of his rule. Antoninus' remission of half of this burdensome tax at the time he came to the throne was greeted with much enthusiasm and led to the production of an extensive series of aes coinage depicting crown-bearing personifications of various provinces (and even of the Parthian kingdom)." David Sear, Roman Coins and their Values, Volume 1, The Millennium Edition.

    Here is the one I just got - with the Cappadocia reverse (you can barely see Mt. Argaeus at her feet to the left):

    Antoninus Pius - Sest. Cappadocia crown Jun 2020 (0).jpg

    Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
    (139 A.D.) Aurum Coronarium
    Rome Mint

    ANT[ONI]NVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right / [CAPPADOCIA] [COS II] in ex.,
    Cappadocia standing left, holding crown & vexillum, Mt. Argaeus with star above at left of her feet.
    RIC III 1056 (RIC 580 (R)).
    (23.34 grams / 31 x 29 mm)

    This one is, oddly enough, for Parthia:

    Antoninus Pius - Sest. Parthia Crown Dec 2018 (0).jpg

    Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
    (139 A.D.) Aurum Coronarium
    Rome Mint

    ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head rt. / [PARTHIA] [COS II (in ex.)] S [C ], Parthia standing left, holding crown, bow & quiver on ground.
    RIC 586 (R); Cohen 572; BMCRE IV 1191; Strack 792
    (24.39 grams / 30 mm)

    David Sear again:

    "The remarkable inclusion of a rival state in this series commemorating provincial tax relief would seem to suggest that the Parthians were subject to some form of financial obligation to the Roman government consequent of Trajan's capture of Ctesiphon in AD 115 and the loss of the celebrated golden throne of the Arsacids"

    From what I could tell poking around online auctions, etc., the Cappadocia issue seems to be the most common for some reason, but they are all pretty hard to find.

    I'd agree with RC on the "box" in Strack being a crown - I think all these personifications are holding crowns.

    Here is an OCRE search for the various aurum coronarium reverse types - I got 18 hits (I might've missed a couple):

    http://numismatics.org/ocre/results...stertius"+AND+portrait_facet:"Antoninus+Pius"

    Somebody else on CT has one of these, a nice one, but I can't recall the member's name. I hope he/she posts it.
     
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  13. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    is this one ?
     
  14. Mike Margolis

    Mike Margolis Well-Known Member

    Yes A.Pius was a bright light of the empire. That is why I go for his issues and I am very picky these days. great history behind the coin indeed.
     
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  15. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    I re-photographed my Antoninus Sestertius Dacia reverse and here is another image:

    [​IMG]
    Antoninus Pius Sestertius Dacia Reverse

    The coin is corroded but it appears that the sword curves to the left.

    :)
     
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  16. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    That photo is MUCH clearer!
     
  17. Archeocultura

    Archeocultura Well-Known Member

    On Forumancientcoins I posted the various crowns that may have been in use in the various parts of the Empire. It explains why some 'boxes' are crowns.

    Frans
     
  18. Archeocultura

    Archeocultura Well-Known Member

    The first Securitas sestertius is indeed dated COS II and this coin comes in variants with TR POT COS II around and SC in the exergue, but also (Strack 802) with COS II in the exergue ans S - C in the fields. III Antoninus Pius 0548 var COS II in ex 7-879.jpg
     
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