Divus Antoninus Pius, died 161. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.59 g, 6 h), Rome, 161 and later. DIVVS ANTONINVS Bare head of Divus Antoninus to right, with slight drapery on his shoulders. Rev. CONSECRATIO Decorated funeral pyre of four tiers, surmounted by quadriga. BMC 61. Cohen 164. RIC 438. Very fine.

Looking at the reverse of this coin, one most wonder about the size of imperial funeral pyres. According to Melville Jones, the numismatic depictions 'probably represent actual rather than symbolic structures' (Dictionary of Roman Coins, p. 259). The scale of the funeral pyre on this coin, which is topped by a life-sized chariot, would seem to suggest that it was in the neighborhood of at least 10 meters (30 feet), but this would provide an extreme fire hazard for the city, which notably burned many times in its long history. Several ustrinae, or places of cremation for emperors and the imperial family, have been discovered at the Campus Martius along the banks of the Tiber in Rome, sufficiently distant from other structures, so that they would have provided a margin of safety, and ample water supply nearby in case the fire spread accidentially.