138 NGC MS Faustina Sr Roman Empire Posthumous Denarius Aeternitas (22110301C)

  
Mint State Uncirculated Empress Faustina Senior Roman Empire silver denarius coin. Minted at Rome, 3.57g (heavy flan), RIC 348. Well struck with lustrous surfaces, beautiful Imperial portrait!

Posthumous consecration issue, minted 138-140/1 AD by her devoted husband Emperor Antoninus Pius. Faustina was the Mother-in-Law of future Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Certified by NGC to MS, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. Obverse: DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right. Fortuna was the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion.

The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (auctoritas) of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the early Principate of Augustus. A deceased emperor held worthy of the honor could be voted a state divinity (divus, plural divi) by the Senate and elevated as such in an act of apotheosis. The granting of apotheosis served religious, political and moral judgment on Imperial rulers and allowed living Emperors to associate themselves with a well-regarded lineage of Imperial divi from which unpopular or unworthy predecessors were excluded.