FAUSTINA I (138-140)

"DIVO ANTONINO ET DIVAE FAUSTINAE EX S.C." Annia Galeria Faustina was the daughter of Marcus Annius Verus (a consul) and Faustina Rupilia. She was the wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius and the mother of four children (two sons and two daughters), including her youngest, Faustina the Younger. All her other children died before 138 CE, one of whom (name unknown—possibly adopted) is believed to have been an ancestor of Fabia Orestilla, the wife of Gordian I, Roman emperor in 238 CE.

She was granted the title of Augusta after 138 CE. Upon her death in 140 CE, she was deified as Diva Faustina. A temple was built in her honor at the Roman Forum, and after his death, the deified Divus Antoninus became a co-patron of the temple. The dedicatory inscription bearing their names remains visible today on the temple's pediment.

Denomination: Denarius, Ag