Antoninus Pius AD 138-161 Bronze Sestertius BRITAIN Victory issue Extremely Rare

Antoninus Pius AD 138-161 Bronze Sestertius

Victory standing on globe

BRI TAN in field

RCV4151, 31mm, 30.97g, Extremely Rare

Comes with previous handwritten collectors label.

Unlike the restless Hadrian, Antoninus Pius never left Italy and was content to rule from Rome. Only minor flare-ups in northern Britain and north Africa disturbed the general peace. This coin was issued to mark the suppression of the British uprising circa AD 143 by his governor of Britannia, Q. Lollius Urbicus, which led to Antoninus being acclaimed Imperator (victorious general) for the second time IMPERATOR II). It also occasioned the building of a new wall in turf 80 miles north of Hadrian’s Wall, the so-called Antonine Wall, across the Firth of Forth. This was the only instance of imperial expansion during the reign of Antoninus, and the new frontier was abandoned shortly after his reign ended.