The Column of Antoninus Pius

264, Lot: 426. Estimate $100. Sold for $170. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Divus Antoninus Pius. Died AD 161. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.30 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, circa AD 161. Bare-headed bust right, slight drapery on shoulders / Column of Antoninus Pius: column on low base surmounted by statue of Divus Antoninus, holding scepter. RIC III 440 (Aurelius); RSC 353. VF, toned.

The reverse depicts the column of the divine Antoninus Pius, the granite shaft and marble base of which survive. The latter, now in the Vatican, employs both Classical and plebeian styles and marks an artistic transition in imperially sponsored monuments.