Gold Aureus of Antoninus Pius, 7.25 g.
Title
Gold Aureus of Antoninus Pius, 7.25 g.
Creator
Antoninus Pius
Date
after 141 CE
Description
Obverse: Draped bust of Faustina the Elder facing to the right; DIVA AVG(VSTA) FAVSTINA: Divine Faustina Augusta.
Reverse: Fortuna standing to left, holding patera in right hand and rudder on globe in left; AETERNITAS: Aeternitas.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
Annia Galeria Faustina (the Elder) married Antoninus Pius about 110 CE. She bore him four children, two sons and two daughters, one of whom, Faustina the Younger, was destined to be the wife of her cousin and future emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Faustina the Elder received the title Augusta upon Antoninus' accession in 138 CE. She died in 141 CE. Antoninus, who was devoted to her, had her consecrated and honored her memory with an extensive series of coins, a temple, and a charity for poor orphan girls (see 91.174).
In her portraits Faustina wears her hair in many small braids gathered together and piled on top of her head in a bun. Her fleshy, matronly face may reflect her appearance at the time of her death. Although the legend on the reverse is Aeternitas or eternity, the figure has the attributes of Fortuna, and on other coins the same legend is accompanied by different figures. The legend must then refer to the undying memory of the empress and the various figures to her virtues. The usual attribute of Fortuna is the rudder with which she guides the world, represented by a globe.
-- Kathleen L. Metzger Newmyer, LU '94
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus (London 1930) 349a.
In her portraits Faustina wears her hair in many small braids gathered together and piled on top of her head in a bun. Her fleshy, matronly face may reflect her appearance at the time of her death. Although the legend on the reverse is Aeternitas or eternity, the figure has the attributes of Fortuna, and on other coins the same legend is accompanied by different figures. The legend must then refer to the undying memory of the empress and the various figures to her virtues. The usual attribute of Fortuna is the rudder with which she guides the world, represented by a globe.
-- Kathleen L. Metzger Newmyer, LU '94
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus (London 1930) 349a.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from L.S. Werner, March 11, 1960.
Identifier
91.173
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Roman, Empire, Faustina the Elder, Fortuna, patera, rudder, globe , Antoninus Pius
Files
Citation
Antoninus Pius, “Gold Aureus of Antoninus Pius, 7.25 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/283.