Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3071 6-7 Jan 2019
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Ancients
Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161). AV aureus (19mm, 7.32 gm, 11h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 157-158. ANTONINVS AVG-PIVS P P IMP II, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius left, seen from behind / TR POT XXI-C-OS IIII, Salus, draped, enthroned left, transverse scepter on left arm, patera in right hand feeding snake coiled around and rising from altar to left. RIC III 280b. Calicó 1681. Breathtaking portrait on fully lustrous surfaces.
Ex Continental Collection (Triton XX, 10 January 2017), lot 746.
Unlike the restless Hadrian, Antoninus never left Italy and was content to rule from Rome. Stability and equanimity were his watchwords, and his policies kept the Empire on an even keel for 24 years. He put no one to death, friend or foe. Only minor flare-ups in northern Britain and north Africa disturbed the general peace. The frontiers were maintained and defended, with his decision to build a new wall in Britain 80 miles north of the Hadrian's Wall the only instance of imperial expansion. He carefully groomed Marcus Aurelius as his successor, but neglected to provide him any military training. In fact the mild, civilian character of his reign may have unwittingly allowed storm clouds to gather and strengthen both within and beyond the frontiers. Nevertheless, later generations viewed Antoninus as the perfect emperor, and the tranquility of his reign took on the sheen of a lost golden age.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161). AV aureus (19mm, 7.32 gm, 11h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 157-158. ANTONINVS AVG-PIVS P P IMP II, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius left, seen from behind / TR POT XXI-C-OS IIII, Salus, draped, enthroned left, transverse scepter on left arm, patera in right hand feeding snake coiled around and rising from altar to left. RIC III 280b. Calicó 1681. Breathtaking portrait on fully lustrous surfaces.
Ex Continental Collection (Triton XX, 10 January 2017), lot 746.
Unlike the restless Hadrian, Antoninus never left Italy and was content to rule from Rome. Stability and equanimity were his watchwords, and his policies kept the Empire on an even keel for 24 years. He put no one to death, friend or foe. Only minor flare-ups in northern Britain and north Africa disturbed the general peace. The frontiers were maintained and defended, with his decision to build a new wall in Britain 80 miles north of the Hadrian's Wall the only instance of imperial expansion. He carefully groomed Marcus Aurelius as his successor, but neglected to provide him any military training. In fact the mild, civilian character of his reign may have unwittingly allowed storm clouds to gather and strengthen both within and beyond the frontiers. Nevertheless, later generations viewed Antoninus as the perfect emperor, and the tranquility of his reign took on the sheen of a lost golden age.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD