Bronze as of Antoninus Pius (AD 138–161) struck at the mint of Rome in AD 151–152, belonging to issues produced during the middle phase of his long and stable reign.
The obverse shows the laureate head of the emperor facing right with the legend ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XV, presenting his official titulature. The reference to the fifteenth tribunician power (TR P XV) provides a precise chronological indicator, allowing the issue to be dated to AD 151–152, since the tribunician power was renewed annually and serves as one of the most reliable dating elements in Roman imperial coinage.
The reverse depicts the personification Salus, standing left and feeding a serpent rising from an altar from a patera while holding a sceptre. The accompanying legend SALVS AVG refers to the health or well-being of the emperor, and the figure of Salus represents one of the established iconographic types of Roman coinage, particularly during periods emphasizing the stability and prosperity of the state. In the exergue appears COS IIII, indicating the fourth consulship of Antoninus Pius, while the letters SC (Senatus Consulto) in the fields mark the formal authorization of the bronze issue by the Roman Senate.
Roman Imperial
Antoninus Pius (138-161), As 151-152, Rome mint
Obverse: laureate head right
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XV
Reverse: Salus standing left, feeding out of patera in right hand snake coiled round altar, left and holding vertical sceptre, COS IIII in exergue, S-C across fields
SALVS AVG
Diameter 26 mm, weight 11.67 g
