Faustina the Elder Coins: Antoninus Pius, Deification and an Empress Remembered in Silver
Faustina the Elder Coins: Antoninus Pius, Deification and an Empress Remembered in Silver
She Was Empress for Barely Three Years, Yet Her Face Stayed on Roman Silver for Decades. The Story of How Rome Turned Memory Into Money.
Faustina the Elder lived only a few years into the reign of her husband, Antoninus Pius, yet her face remained on Roman coins for decades after her death. That makes her one of the most familiar women in Roman numismatics—and one of the clearest examples of how an imperial family could use coinage to turn memory, marriage and dynastic legitimacy into public imagery.
For collectors, Faustina I is especially appealing because her silver denarii and bronze coins connect directly to the Antonine dynasty, while many examples remain far more attainable than the most famous imperial rarities.
Who Was Faustina the Elder?
Annia Galeria Faustina, usually called Faustina the Elder or Faustina I by modern collectors, was born around AD 100 into a wealthy and well-connected Roman senatorial family. She married the future emperor Antoninus Pius before his accession and became Augusta after Hadrian adopted Antoninus as his successor in AD 138.
Faustina and Antoninus had four children, although only their daughter Faustina the Younger survived to adulthood. Through Faustina the Younger’s marriage to Marcus Aurelius, Faustina I became the maternal grandmother of Commodus and an important link in the dynasty that dominated the Roman Empire through much of the second century.
Faustina as Augusta
Antoninus Pius became emperor in AD 138, placing Faustina at the center of the imperial household. Her lifetime coinage presents her in the formal visual language expected of a Roman Augusta: carefully styled portraits accompanied by reverses invoking virtues, prosperity, fertility and divine protection.
Her tenure as living empress was short. Faustina died in AD 140 or 141, only a few years after Antoninus became emperor. The exact chronology of some early issues is debated, but the transformation of her coinage after her death is unmistakable.
Antoninus Pius and the Deification of Faustina
After Faustina died, the Senate deified her and she became Diva Faustina. Antoninus Pius commemorated her on an extraordinary scale. Temples, charitable foundations and an extensive series of coins helped keep her image before the Roman public long after her death.
The Temple of Faustina was dedicated in the Roman Forum. After Antoninus died in AD 161 and was himself deified, the building became associated with both Antoninus and Faustina. Much of its ancient structure survives because it was later incorporated into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.
Antoninus also established a charitable institution associated with girls known as the puellae Faustinianae. The surviving evidence does not let us reconstruct every detail of the program, but its association with Faustina reinforced the public memory of the deceased empress.
For more on her husband and the setting in which these coins were struck, see Antoninus Pius: The Emperor of Rome's Golden Age.
Why Are There So Many Faustina the Elder Coins?
The abundance of Faustina I coins can surprise new collectors because she died so early in Antoninus Pius’s reign. The answer is that a large proportion of her coinage is posthumous.
Issues naming her DIVA FAVSTINA or DIVA AVG FAVSTINA continued to commemorate the deified empress. These were not merely memorial souvenirs in the modern sense. Roman imperial coinage circulated official messages throughout the empire, and Faustina’s deified status helped present the ruling house as stable, pious and favored by the gods.
Because these commemorative issues were produced in substantial numbers, collectors today can often obtain an authentic silver coin of Faustina I without entering the price range required for many scarcer Roman personalities.
What Do Faustina the Elder Coins Look Like?
The obverse normally shows a draped bust of Faustina with an elaborate coiffure characteristic of elite Antonine portraiture. Legends vary by issue and by whether the coin was struck during her lifetime or after her deification.
Lifetime legends can identify her as Augusta, while posthumous coins frequently use DIVA FAVSTINA or related forms. That single word—DIVA—is one of the quickest clues that a coin belongs to the enormous commemorative series issued after her death.
Reverse types are diverse. Collectors encounter deities and personifications such as Aeternitas, Ceres, Juno, Pietas, Vesta and others, along with imagery connected to consecration and eternity. Individual legends and designs should always be attributed type by type rather than assuming every Faustina coin carries the same message.
Silver Denarii of Faustina I
Silver denarii are among the most popular Faustina I coins. They combine a recognizable imperial portrait with a denomination central to Roman economic history and are generally small enough that well-preserved examples can retain attractive detail without requiring the budget associated with large bronzes or gold aurei.
Faustina the Elder Silver Denarius: Wife of Antoninus Pius, NGC, AD 138 to 141
The empress this article is about, in her own silver. An authentic NGC-certified denarius from the chapter of the Antonine dynasty you just read.
Faustina I and Faustina II: How Do You Tell Them Apart?
One of the most common beginner problems is confusing Faustina the Elder with her daughter, Faustina the Younger.
Faustina I was the wife of Antoninus Pius. Faustina II was their daughter and became the wife of Marcus Aurelius. Both women appear on large quantities of Roman coinage, and both can be labeled Faustina in auction listings and older references.
The portrait style, hairstyle, legends and reverse type together establish the attribution. A legend containing DIVA FAVSTINA is strongly associated with the elder Faustina’s posthumous issues, but collectors should read the complete legend and compare the type rather than identifying a coin from the portrait alone.
Faustina the Younger Silver Denarius: Wife of Marcus Aurelius, NGC, AD 147 to 175
The daughter, in her own silver. Pair mother and daughter side by side and the tell-apart lesson in this section becomes something you can hold.
Why Collect Faustina the Elder?
Faustina I offers an unusually good combination of historical importance and accessibility. Her coins connect Antoninus Pius to Marcus Aurelius, Faustina II and Commodus, making them useful anchors for an Antonine dynasty collection.
They also introduce collectors to several major Roman numismatic themes at once: women on imperial coinage, the title Augusta, imperial family propaganda, deification, consecration and the use of coins to preserve dynastic memory.
A collector building by ruler or imperial family can pair Faustina I with Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Faustina II. See our guide to collecting ancient coins by ruler for ways to structure a historical set.
Empress for barely three years, on Roman silver for decades. Rome turned memory into money, and the coins survive.
FAQ: Faustina the Elder Coins
Was Faustina the Elder a Roman empress?
Yes. She was the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius and received the title Augusta after his accession in AD 138.
When did Faustina the Elder die?
She died in AD 140 or 141. Ancient and numismatic chronology does not make every detail of the dating equally certain, so both dates appear in modern references.
Why do Faustina I coins say DIVA?
DIVA indicates her deified status. After her death she was officially consecrated, and large quantities of posthumous coinage commemorated her as Diva Faustina.
Are Faustina the Elder coins rare?
As a category, no. Many of her posthumous denarii and bronzes survive in substantial numbers, although rarity varies greatly by denomination, minting variety, reverse type and condition.
Is Faustina the Elder the same person as Faustina the Younger?
No. Faustina the Elder was the wife of Antoninus Pius. Faustina the Younger was their daughter and the wife of Marcus Aurelius.
Why is Faustina the Elder important to collectors?
Her coinage links several generations of the Antonine dynasty and provides an accessible way to study Roman empress portraiture, imperial deification and dynastic propaganda through an authentic ancient object.
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