Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 68 27 Feb 2020
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Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 139. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, laureate head right / COS II, towered figure of Asia standing facing, head left, holding crown and anchor; at feet, prow left; S-C across fields, ASIA in exergue. RIC 579; C. 64; BMCRE 1184. 27.72g, 34mm, 6h.
Very Fine; some minor areas of obv. corrosion. Very Rare.
From a private UK collection.
This sestertius is part of a series portraying the provinces and struck for the offering of the "aurum coronarium", tributes donated by the provinces to the emperor upon accession and other special occasions. The practice was inherited from the Greeks who bestowed a gold crown on those deemed worthy of public honours and the tributes demanded by Hellenistic kings over the communities they ruled. Under the Romans, such tributes became statutory taxes and probably took the form of bullion utilised by the mint for striking of coins. The occasion provided a propaganda opportunity for Antoninus, who generously remitted half of the tribute to the provinces and Italy. The series of bronze coins, of which this sestertius is a part, commemorates the thirteen regions who presumably gave tribute and/or benefited from the emperors generosity (see RIC 574-596).
Very Fine; some minor areas of obv. corrosion. Very Rare.
From a private UK collection.
This sestertius is part of a series portraying the provinces and struck for the offering of the "aurum coronarium", tributes donated by the provinces to the emperor upon accession and other special occasions. The practice was inherited from the Greeks who bestowed a gold crown on those deemed worthy of public honours and the tributes demanded by Hellenistic kings over the communities they ruled. Under the Romans, such tributes became statutory taxes and probably took the form of bullion utilised by the mint for striking of coins. The occasion provided a propaganda opportunity for Antoninus, who generously remitted half of the tribute to the provinces and Italy. The series of bronze coins, of which this sestertius is a part, commemorates the thirteen regions who presumably gave tribute and/or benefited from the emperors generosity (see RIC 574-596).