# Coin Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius

- By: Ancient Egyptian
- Date: 138-139
- Medium: Billon
- Classification: Coin
- Dimensions: Diam.: 2.3 cm (15/16 in.)
- Culture: Egypt
- Credit line: Gift of Robert L. Grover
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/62850)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/bf737533-2c9d-a50c-b3de-cd7aa95d35c0/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Canopus, a port city in the Nile Delta, was famous for an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Osiris, god of vegetation and rebirth. His worship included a procession of his priests carrying jars filled with Nile water, the symbol of fertility. The jars, as depicted on this coin, were topped with the head of Osiris, here shown in profile, with an elaborate headdress. Emperor Antoninus Pius, who issued the coin, never set foot in Egypt, but he used this imagery to honor one of Egypt’s ancient traditions.

The date this coin was struck is indicated in the back inscription " B ", which means the second year of the emperor's reign, or 138-139 CE. Antoninus Pius reigned as emperor from 138-161 CE.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0