A nice denarius of Antoninus Pius from the collection of Ing. Giuseppe Mazzini (1883-1961)

Nikodeimos · May 18

Hello everyone!

Here’s another coin I’d like to share with you all. Of course, Antoninus Pius does not need much of an introduction, nor could much be written about his reign, which, free from any major troubles, left comparatively few traces in ancient historiography (although there is an abundance of inscriptions, papyri, and, of course, coins). This particular denarius in my collection is definitely one my favorites – it’s not a rare type, but it’s exceptionally well preserved and beautifully toned, with a really lovely portrait.

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Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.71 g, 7 h), Rome, 148-149. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII Laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right. Rev. COS IIII Annona standing front, head to left, holding grain ears over modius in her right hand and anchor in her left. BMC 657. Cohen 284. Mazzini, pl. LXIV, 284 (this coin). RIC 175. A sharply struck and beautifully toned example with an excellent pedigree. Virtually as struck.

Ex Leu FPL 1, January 2023, 175, Hess-Divo 339, 22 October 2020, 109, Sternberg V, 28 November 1975, 99 (with original dealer's ticket), and from the collection of Ing. G. Mazzini (1883-1961).

It also has a fine provenance, hailing from the collection of Giuseppe Mazzini (1883-1961), who amassed an enormous collection of Roman coins, over 8000 in total, published in a beautiful five-volume set in 1957-1958. He is a bit of a controversial figure, as he joined the Fascist party in Italy, becoming Senator in 1943. Apparently, he was also a very passionate fencer.

If anyone else has any coins from his collection or something interesting related to the Antonines, I’d love to see them!

Kali · May 18

Wonderful addition. Handsome portrait.

My "special", Pius, due to the "Ops" reverse.

Antoninus Pius (138 - 161 A.D)
AR Denarius
O: ANTONINVS AVG PI - VS PP TR P COS III, laureate head right.
R: OPI AVG; Ops seated left, holding scepter and resting her head on right hand.
Rome Mint, 140-143 A.D.
3.43g
18mm
RIC III 77, R2

Roman Collector · May 18

That's a very high-quality coin, @Nikodeimos, with an important provenance. It's exquisitely well-struck and well-centered, and with gorgeous toning. Here's my humbler specimen of this coin, with hoard patina.

Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman AR denarius, 2.88 g, 18.0 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 149.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head, right.
Rev: COS IIII, Annona standing left, holding two corn-ears in right hand over modius and resting left hand on anchor.
Refs: RIC 175; BMCRE 657-60; Cohen 284; RCV --; Strack 191.

expat · May 18

Beautiful coin @Nikodeimos it has great eye appeal.

Here is my COS IIII, Annona reverse

Antoninus Pius AR denarius, Rome, AD 152-153. 18 mm, 3.35 g. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XVI, laureate head right. / COS IIII, Annona standing left, holding corn-ears in left hand and resting right hand on modius set on prow to right. RIC 221; RSC 290; BMCRE 520.

Marsyas Mike · May 18

Nice denarius @Nikodeimos - it actually is even more interesting than it looks - yours has slight drapery on the shoulder, so it is a variety (and as such rather scarce). I did a quick acsearch and found a couple.

Here's the search: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=pius+denarius+175+annona&category=1-2&lot=&date_from=&date_to=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0

I only found a few - I found yours (Leu) and an obverse die-match (Roma). Neither auction notes the drapery - but draped variations of AP issues are fairly frequently encountered:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9176194

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1929575

CPK · May 18

A beautiful coin @Nikodeimos! It doesn't get any better than that. I like the nice heavy weight, too - just adds to the feel of quality IMO.

I just posted a thread about my new portrait coin of his daughter - but for here, I will post my own favorite Antoninus portrait coin:

ANTONINUS PIUS, AD 138-161
AR Denarius (16.38mm, 3.29g, 6h)
Struck AD 144. Rome mint
Obverse: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P COS III, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right
Reverse: MONETA AVG, Moneta standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae
References: RIC III 76b, RCV 4092
A scarce type, with attractive old cabinet toning and a wonderful portrait struck in high relief.

Nikodeimos · May 19

@Kali That's Ops reverse is really nice!

@expat Thank you! So does yours.

@Marsyas Mike You're right! I lazily copied the description of the auction house but didn't notice it wasn't mentioned there.

@CPK Really lovely portrait on that one and nice toning too. Congrats!

Dafydd · May 19

Antoninus Pius, 138-161 Sestertius circa 148-149, Æ 32mm., 25.79g. Laureate head r. Rev. Aequitas standing l., holding scales and cornucopiae. C 232. RIC 855.

Original Skin Coins · May 19

Beautiful coin! Not sure if this is actually true, but it's always seemed to me that there are more denarii of Antoninus Pius with flow lines than there are of most other emperors. Seems to hold true with the denarii of Faustina Sr as well. Perhaps something unique to the minting process during his time period. I think it adds a nice highlight to the portrait.

Here's another Annona reverse:

ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XVI, laureate head right. / COS IIII, Annona standing left, holding corn-ears and resting hand on modius set on prow to right

Theoderic · May 19

Handsome coins from everyone. It's a shame we don't have more historical accounts from this lengthy peaceful reign but no doubt the Romans who were fortunate enough to live during this era were agreeable to the trade-off.