Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;happy_collector, post: 7810445, member: 100070&quot;]Happy Friday! I would like to share my recent coin purchase. It is an Antoninus Pius AV aureus. Picking up a Roman AV aureus is my 2021 ancient coin collecting goal. I have been thinking of either getting a decent-quality aureus, or Syracuse tetradrachm, sometime this year. However, I have no luck with Syracuse tetradrachm, as their hammer prices are way over my budget. So, it seems more feasible for me to pickup an OK-grade aureus instead.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the coin. Quite bright and lustrous, with good flowlines. Seller photo:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341636[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Antoninus Pius. AV aureus </p><p>Rome, 157-158 AD</p><p>Obv: ANTONINVS AVG-PIVS P P IMP II, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right</p><p>Rev: TR POT XXI-COS IIII, Salus standing facing, headright, feeding out of patera in left hand serpent held in her arms.</p><p>RIC III 279a. Calicó 1684. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have been hoping for an aureus that can fit into my Faustina collection. I am happy to locate this piece, which has a pretty good portrait of the Emperor. The coin was originally NGC-slabbed as AU, way better than the F or VF grade that I have been expecting with my budget. The drawback of the coin is a scratch behind Salus on the reverse field, which makes the coin affordable to me during this time when ancient coins are all fetching crazy-high hammer prices. </p><p><br /></p><p>I did some research on the coin. RIC III 279a is for laureate head, and RIC III 279b is for bare head. I also notice that my coin can be quite precisely narrowed down to year 157-158 AD. I am unsure if there is any special event during these two years that leads up to this coin design. The Roman Empire is prosperous during this time period, and Antoninus Pius was not focusing on military campaigns. He was at an old age when the coin was minted, and Marcus Aurelius will be taking over the throne 3 to 4 years later. The Salus theme makes me think that the design may have a “good health wishes” meaning behind. </p><p><br /></p><p>I don’t know Latin. It is therefore nice to locate a translation on both obverse and reverse legends, from numista.com. </p><p><a href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces260217.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces260217.html" rel="nofollow">https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces260217.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse translation is: </p><p>Antoninus Pius, emperor (Augustus) father of the nation, supreme commander (Imperator) for the second time. </p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse translation is:</p><p>Holder of tribunician power for the 21st time, consul for the fourth time.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have also tried to see if there is a same reverse design on A. Pius silver or bronze coins. Didn’t find any. Maybe I have not looked deep enough, since I don’t have reference book materials at home. The closest Salus design I can find is this Sestertius in my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341637[/ATTACH] </p><p>Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius </p><p>Rome mint. AD 145-147.</p><p>30.5mm, 24.51 g.</p><p>Obv: Laureate head right.</p><p>Rev: Salus standing, holding rudder and feeding serpent to left rising from altar.</p><p>RIC III 761</p><p>A scarce variety with the rudder up, according to seller.</p><p><br /></p><p>You are welcome to share your Antoninus Pius coins: either bronze, silver or gold. Wishing you all a wonderful relaxing weekend![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in