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AR24 - Antoninus Pius ΦΑΥϹΤΙΝΑ ΘΕΑΝ
| Issuer | Alexandria (Egypt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 158-159 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Reverse description | Veiled and draped bust of the deified Faustina I facing right, her veil rendered in fine drapery folds falling from the crown of the head over the shoulders, consistent with her posthumous divine status. The portrait displays the restrained elegance typical of Alexandrian representations of the empress following her deification in 141 AD. The reverse legend ΦΑΥϹΤΙΝΑ ΘΕΑΝ, meaning 'Faustina the Divine' in the accusative, is inscribed in Greek around the field. The engraving style is characteristic of the Alexandrian provincial workshop under the reign of Antoninus Pius. |
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| Mint | Alexandria (ancient), Egypt (332 BC - 476 AD) |
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Faustina the Elder had died in 140/141 AD, yet Alexandria's mint was still producing coins in her deified name nearly two decades later — a striking measure of how deliberately Antoninus cultivated her posthumous cult. He was reportedly so insistent on her divine honors that the Senate, which had granted them somewhat reluctantly, eventually named him "Pius" in part for his filial and conjugal piety toward both his adoptive father Hadrian and his deceased wife.
Alexandrian billon tetradrachms of this regnal year (year 22) were struck under the prefect's supervision within Egypt's tightly controlled monetary enclave, which remained deliberately isolated from the Roman imperial silver coinage system.