The Impending Secular Games under Antoninus Pius, AD 140-148

CNG 84, Lot: 1025. Estimate $150. Sold for $150. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. AR Denarius (17mm, 2.81 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 140. Laureate head right / She-wolf in cave standing right, suckling the twins. RIC III 95; RSC 914. VF, a few areas of dark toning, minor edge smoothing.

From the John Bitner Collection.

Paralleling the celebration of the Ludi Saeculares under Claudius in AD 48, many issues of Antoninus Pius honor the upcoming 900th anniversary of Rome’s founding in AD 148. Unlike Domitian’s series, which focuses on the events and images associated with the games, the issues of Pius convey the mythology of the city herself in preparation for her birthday. Motifs such as the she-wolf suckling the twins, Romulus and Remus, and the affair of Mars with Rhea Silvia are rich in Roman mythology, serving to honor the fabled past of not only the city, but the whole of Italia.