Bronze sestertius of Antoninus Pius (AD 138–161) struck at the Rome mint in AD 157–158.
The obverse displays the laureate head of the emperor facing right with the legend ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II, containing part of the official titulature of the ruler. The inscription identifies Antoninus as Augustus and Pater Patriae (“Father of the Fatherland”), while the designation IMP II refers to his second imperial acclamation. The portrait corresponds to the established iconographic type used during his reign, reflecting the characteristic realistic style of Roman imperial portraiture in the mid-second century AD.
The reverse depicts the personification Fortuna standing left, holding a rudder set on a globe and a cornucopia. The accompanying legend TR POT XXI COS IIII refers to Antoninus Pius’ twenty-first tribunician power and his fourth consulship, which allows the issue to be precisely dated to AD 157–158. The imagery of Fortuna with a rudder and globe belongs to a well-known iconographic tradition in Roman coinage and symbolizes the guidance of the world’s destiny and the prosperity of the state under the emperor’s rule.
Roman Imperial
Antoninus Pius (138-161), Sestertius 157-158, Rome mint
Obverse: laureate head right
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P IMP II
Reverse: Fortuna standing left, holding rudder on globe and cornucopiae in left, S-C across fields
TR POT XXI COS IIII
Diameter 31 mm, weight 28.67 g
