108, Lot: 153. Estimate $150. Sold for $180. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANTONINUS PIUS. 138-161 AD. Æ As (27mm, 12.69 gm). Struck 149 AD. Laureate head right / Elephant walking right. RIC III 862a; BMCRE 1841; Cohen 565. Near VF, dark green patina.

From the Rudolf Berk Collection.

With the death of Hadrian's heir, Aelius Caesar, on New-Year's Day, 138, Antoninus was adopted as the new successor and he ascended the imperial throne on July 10. The coinage of Antoninus' reign was issued not only in the emperor's name but also in that of his wife, Faustina Senior, the Caesar Marcus Aurelius, and his daughter, Faustina Junior, who married Aurelius in 145. This exceptional copper as is dated by the years of Antoninus' tribunician power (TR P XII) to the 12-month period beginning 10 December 148 AD. The reverse depicts an elephant, clad in some kind of ornamental covering, accompanied by an inscription proclaiming the emperor's liberality (Munificentia Augusti). The reference is to the staging of wild beast shows in the arena of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, better known today as the Colosseum, on the occasion of the celebration of Rome's 900th anniversary in 147-148 AD.