Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 491 5 May 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ As (25mm, 9.71 g, 12h). Rome mint (or mint in Britain?). Struck AD 154-155. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / BRITANN IA • COS IIII, S C in exergue, Britannia seated left on rock, propping head on hand and resting hand on rock, in attitude of mourning; large round shield with central spike and transverse vexillum projecting upward to left. RIC III 934 var. (bust type); SCBC 646. Rough brown surfaces. Fine.
There is some debate as to whether or not the BRITANNIA asses of Antoninus Pius were struck in the Roman province of Britannia itself. In the 50th edition, 2015, of the Standard Catalogue of British Coins, p. 68, 646 note, we read "Many specimens of this type...have been found in significant quantities on Romano-British sites, notably in Coventina's Well at Carrawburgh fort on Hadrian's Wall, raising the interesting possibility that they may have been issued from a temporary mint in Britain. The style of the engraving is quite regular, indicating that even if locally produced these coins would have been struck from normal Roman dies brought to Britain especially for this purpose."
There is some debate as to whether or not the BRITANNIA asses of Antoninus Pius were struck in the Roman province of Britannia itself. In the 50th edition, 2015, of the Standard Catalogue of British Coins, p. 68, 646 note, we read "Many specimens of this type...have been found in significant quantities on Romano-British sites, notably in Coventina's Well at Carrawburgh fort on Hadrian's Wall, raising the interesting possibility that they may have been issued from a temporary mint in Britain. The style of the engraving is quite regular, indicating that even if locally produced these coins would have been struck from normal Roman dies brought to Britain especially for this purpose."