Faustina II, 161-175, Denarius

Faustina II, denarius, AR, as Augusta under Marcus Aurelius, Rome mint, AD 161–175, 3.50 g, 18 mm. Obverse with draped bust of Faustina II right, legend FAVSTINA AVGVSTA. Reverse with the legend SAECVLI FELICIT, type consistent with the “felicity of the age” issues of the Antonine period. Well-centred strike with clear legends and devices. RIC III (Marcus Aurelius) 711.

Faustina II, wife of Marcus Aurelius, was a principal dynastic figure of the Antonine house and was prominently represented on the imperial coinage as Augusta. Denarii with SAECVLI FELICIT proclaim public messaging of prosperity and continuity, tying the empress to ideals of stability and the promised well-being of the Roman world during the mid-2nd century AD.