Roman Empire, Antonius Pius, AR Denarius

Roman Empire, Antonius Pius (138-161), AR Denarius

Obv.: crowned bust, right
Rev.: Various types

Historical

Antoninus Pius (86-161) was Roman Emperor from 138 until his death. The Roman Empire experienced its last prolonged period of peace under him, the fourth of the six adopted emperors and founder of the Antonine dynasty.

Although Antonius Pius was actually only intended as a transitional emperor, his reign was, after Emperor Augustus, the second longest of any Roman emperor before Late Antiquity.

Since he had pushed through the deification of Hadrian in the first year of his reign, he bore the epithet the epithet Pius ("the pious"). In 145 AD he consecrated the
he consecrated the temple built in Hadrian's honour, the so-called Hadrianeum. Unlike the emperors before and after him, Antoninus never left Italy during his reign, but took care of the administration of the empire through his governors or letters (some of which are preserved in inscriptions in cities like Ephesus).

According to late tradition, Antoninus saw his own death coming and on the night of his death, possibly following food poisoning, had the small statue of the goddess Fortuna brought from a bedchamber to that of his successor Marcus Aurelius. To the Praetorians, who were always nervous about changes of emperors and unresolved questions of power, he issued the slogan "Equanimity" to the praetorians. The body of Antoninus Pius was buried in Hadrian's Mausoleum (later Castel Sant'Angelo).

Please note: You are purchasing a coin of the respective ruler in the indicated condition, not the piece depicted in each case.