143-144 AD., Antoninus Pius, Rome mint, Dupondius, RIC 724.
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Antoninus I Pius, victory in Britain commemorative issue, Rome mint, 143-144 AD.,
Dupondius (ø 25-26,5 mm / 12,35 g), brass ("orichalcum"), axes about medal alignment ↑↑ (ca. 20°),
Obv.: ANTONINVS AVG PI - VS P P TR P COS III , radiate head of Antoninus Pius facing right.
Rev.: IMPERA - T-OR II / S - C , Victory standing r., holding trophy (of captured British arms) in both hands, nick at center of her body and of trophy.
RIC III, p. 119, no. 724 (common) ; Coh. 435 .
This type commemorates Pius' British victory won over the rebellious British tribes by Governor Lollius Urbicus of 143 AD. While most of the sources note the Brigantes (located in Northumbria) as the primary focus of these events, circa 143-144 AD, most of his campaigning was against the lowland tribes of Scotland, the Votadini, Selgovae, Damnonii, and Novantae. His campaigns were successfully completed by 144, after which Urbicus and the Legio II Augusta built the Antonine Wall. This issue was struck in commemoration of Urbicus' victories, for which Pius was likely acclaimed imperator for the second time.
His reign was the most peaceful in the entire history of the Principate. It was however in Britain that Antoninus decided to follow a new, more aggressive path, with the appointment of a new governor in 139, Quintus Lollius Urbicus a native of Numidia and previously governor of Germania Inferior.
Under instructions from the emperor, Lollius undertook an invasion of southern Scotland, winning some significant victories, and constructing the Antonine Wall from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. The wall, however, was soon gradually decommissioned during the mid-150s and eventually abandoned late during the reign (early 160s), for reasons that are still not quite clear. Antonine's Wall is mentioned in just one literary source, Antoninus' biography in the Historia Augusta. Pausanias makes a brief and confused mention of a war in Britain. In one inscription honoring Antoninus, erected by Legio II Augusta, which participated in the building of the Wall, a relief showing four naked prisoners, one of them beheaded, seems to stand for some actual warfare.
Although Antonine's Wall was, in principle, much shorter and at first sight more defensible than Hadrian's Wall, the additional area that it enclosed within the Empire was barren, with the effect that supply lines to it were strained enough that the costs from maintaining the additional territory outweighed the benefits of doing so. It has been therefore speculated that the invasion of Lowland Scotland and the building of the wall had to do mostly with internal politics, that is, offering Antoninus an opportunity to gain some modicum of necessary military prestige at the start of his reign. Actually, the campaign in Britannia was followed by an Imperial salutation - that is, by Antoninus formally taking for the second (and last) time the title of Imperator - in 142. The fact that around the same time coins were struck announcing a victory in Britain points to Antoninus' need to publicize his achievements.
more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoninus_Pius , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonine_Wall
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