Art Institute of Chicago

Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius

Roman

Date

138-161

Medium

Gold

Culture

Roman Empire

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

On the front of this coin the Emperor Antoninus Pius, living up to his name, portrays himself practicing religious rites by making a sacrifice to the gods. On the back his daughter, the empress Faustina the Younger, is paired with an image of Juno who, as the wife of Jupiter, symbolized marriage and family and acted as the divine protector of children. Rome encouraged large families to populate its provinces and fill the army’s ranks. Faustina was the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and mother of his thirteen children. The inscription on the back of this coin translates to "Antoninus Pius ruled between 138-161 A.D."

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