Featured OTD: In 86 CE Mr. Perfect is born...but does anybody really care about Antoninus Pius?

Annona is the devine personification of the regular supply of corn to Rome fron Sicily and later, from Northern Africa; the modius is one of her fixed attributes, as are the corn ears and rudder (the trade and supply overseas). The merchants of the corn resided in Ostia, where you can find many mosaics referring to the corn trade. No emperor could afford famine in the capital, so that's why there are so many Annona coins during Antoninus' reign. The modius, in which the amount of corn was measured, was one of her fixed attributes.

 

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Speaking of Antoninus Pius with Annona and a modius ...


Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.16 g, 29 mm.
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.

 

Antoninus Pius Ar Denarius RIC 285 Rv. Male togate figure standing on pedestal within tetrastyle shrine 159 A.D. 3.10 grms 19 mm

 

Archeocultura, the Providentiae Deorum sestertius is from Terence Cheesman, see on page 3 - it certainly is a beauty, but not mine maybe someday I can have one

Thanks for the info about the denarius, didn't know that - always something new to learn, CT is just great (Antoninus seems to be on my denarius also a bit unkempt)

 

As a rule, left facing head or busts are rare and not too many are recorden in Cohen and therefore neither in RIC, but sometimes both bare heads and laureate heads can be found.