Obverse: IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG; Laureate
Bust of the Emperor Facing Right
Reverse: AEQVIT AVG TR P COS II; Aequitas
Standing to the Left, Holding Scales and a
Cornucopiae
Emperor Pertinax was born in 126 A.D., son of a
freeman. He excelled both in the military and in
the civil sector, earning the title of praetor and
eventually consul. Marcus Aurelius elevated him
to chief command of the Danube army during the
campaigns against Avidius Cassius. Pertinax was
so successful in this role, that Aurelius made him
the governor of Moesia, Dacia, and Syria.
Emperor Commodus made him commander-in-
chief of the troops fighting in Britain, then
afterward appointed him governor of Africa.
After Commodus passed away, Pertinax was
proclaimed emperor by the soldiers at the
recommendation of the prefect of the praetorian
guard. Pertinax had himself elected as head of
the State once more by the senators and revived
the title "Princeps Senatus"; on the first day of his
reign he assumed the title "Pater Patriæ."
Pertinax strove to restore order in the
administration of the State. He also was able to
resume public works. He separated public lands
from those belonging to the emperor,
endeavoured to bring about the resettling of
deserted estates, to recall those arbitrarily
banished, and to bring informers to trial. In the
end, Pertinax was murdered in a plot arranged by
the praetorian guards after he attempted to limit
their influence in the affairs of the state.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the
coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who might have touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of
the state that struck them, of a specific time and
location, whether contemporary currencies or
artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This
stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise
of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail
that is often lacking in contemporary machine-
made currencies. This ancient coin is a memorial
to an emperor’s reign passed from the hands of
civilization to civilization, from generation to
generation that still appears as vibrant today as
the day it was struck.
