Watch List notes:

The Roman Empire

Antoninus Pius, 138 – 161. Aureus 140, AV 7.60 g. ANTONINVS AVG PI – VS P P TR P COS III Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. of Antoninus r. Rev. AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F COS Bareheaded, draped and cuirassed bust of M. Aurelius l. C 26 var. (omits TR P). BMC 168. RIC 418b. Calicó 1730.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Two finely executed
portraits perfectly centred on a full flan. Almost invisible marks,
otherwise good extremely fine

Although Antoninus Pius succeeded Hadrian as emperor of Rome, he truly was third or fourth down the line of preference. Hadrian's first choice as successor was the nobleman Aelius, who was hailed Caesar in 136, but who died unexpectedly after a year in office. Hadrian then determined he would pass the throne to Aelius' son Lucius Verus – then only seven years old – and to the 17-year-old Marcus Aurelius, who was a distant relative and a close companion. In truth the middle aged Antoninus Pius was merely a surrogate emperor in the eyes of Hadrian, and he remained truthful to his promise to act as guardian for Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Indeed, he was so faithful to the memory of Hadrian that he earned his surname "Pius" because he fought so diligently to convince the Senate to deify Hadrian. Over the years of his own principate, Antoninus Pius groomed both as his eventual successors, and thus continued the tradition of adoptive succession. He enjoyed a productive and mostly peaceful reign, and unlike Hadrian, who travelled extensively, Antoninus Pius never once left Italy in his twenty-two years on the throne. Unlike the great variety of Hadrian's coinage on which he celebrates his extensive travels, Antoninus' reverse types are localized, and on occasion they reflect the attention he paid to the betterment of Rome and Italy. This aureus is one of his more interesting types, as it bears the portrait of Antoninus Pius on the obverse and that of his elder heir Marcus Aurelius on the reverse.