Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

138-161

Roman

On the front of this coin the Emperor Antoninus Pius, living up to his name, portrays himself practicing religious rites by making a sacrifice to the gods. On the back his daughter, the empress Faustina the Younger, is paired with an image of Juno who, as the wife of Jupiter, symbolized marriage and family and acted as the divine protector of children. Rome encouraged large families to populate its provinces and fill the army’s ranks. Faustina was the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and mother of his thirteen children.

The inscription on the back of this coin translates to “Antoninus Pius ruled between 138-161 A.D.”

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist: Ancient Roman
Title: Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius
Place: Roman Empire (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 138 CE–161 CE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Obverse: IMP T AEL CAES HADRI ANTONINVS Reverse: AVG PIVS P M TR P COS DES II
Dimensions: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of William F. Dunham
Reference Number: 1922.4253
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/95976/manifest.json

The Art Institute of Chicago, “New Coins in the Classical Collection,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago vol. 16, no. 4 (September 1922), pp. 50-51, fig. 5.

William F. Dunham (1857-1936), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.