Eikonion (AD 138-161) AE 21 - Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius, 138-161 AD. AE21 (4.97g, 6h). IM-P C T A H ANTONINVS, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right / COL ICO, Athena standing facing, head left, holding Nike presenting wreath, and spear; shield leaning against spear at her feet; in left field, serpent. Very rare. Sandy-black patina. Very fine.

Hans von Aulock knew of seven specimens of this type, all in museum collections. He notes the obverse legend ending ANTONINOC, but this seems unlikely given that the city was a Roman colony since the reign of Hadrian and thus should have been using Latin legends on its coinage. Unfortunately, the single specimen he illustrates is struck off center, the British Museum specimen has incomplete legends, and the rest of the examples he cites are not otherwise published, so the spelling cannot be confirmed. The specimen offered here, though, very clearly spells ANTONINVS, which suggests that Von Aulock's reading is in error.