Watch List notes:

THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Hadrian, 117-138

Aureus 121, AV 7.34 g. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN – HADRIANVS AVG Laureate and draped bust r. Rev. P M T R P – COS III Aion, as the spirit of the Golden Age, standing r. inside an oval frame decorated with the signs of the zodiac, holding phoenix on globe; in exergue, SAEC AVR. C 1321. BMC 312. Strack 78. RIC 136. Calicó 1366.
Very rare and in unusually fine condition for the issue. An interesting reverse
type, invisible marks on obverse, otherwise good very / extremely fine


Authorities disagree about the identification of the figure who steps through the circle, which, like the phoenix, is symbolic of eternity. Mattingly and Sydenham, in RIC, described him as Hadrian, representing "the spirit of the Golden Age" – a conclusion they seem to have drawn from Cohen, who suggested the figure might be Hadrian with the attributes of Eternity. Seth Stevenson thought he might be the Genius of the Senate. Mattingly's view in BMCRE (published a decade after his original opinion in RIC) that it is the Genius of the Golden Age is accepted by Hill, who attributes the type to the start of A.D. 121. However, perhaps due to wear on the specimens he examined, Mattingly did not notice the signs of the zodiac that are clear on our coin. This detail – which is not mentioned in either RIC or BMCRE – securely attributes the figure as Aion, a deity associated with cyclical time or eternity, and who represents the Saeculum. Here he is shown walking through the cosmos, represented by the wheel decorated with the signs of the zodiac, exactly as he is depicted on the large silver Parabiago patera found near Milan in 1907, and on mosaics from both Sentinum and Hippo Regius. No less remarkable than the type is the quality of its engraving. The artist responsible for this reverse die was extraordinarily gifted, for he created a significant depth of field within a relatively low pane of relief. Much consideration was given to the circle, which takes on an oval shape since it has been foreshortened in perspective, with its interior visible on the right and its exterior, with the zodiacal symbols, visible on the left. More remarkable, though, is the figure of Aion himself: the engraver has imbued this figure with a sense of confidence as he steps on to the bottom of the circle and hangs on the top rim with his right hand. All of these aspects create the effect that he is casually passing through a celestial portal into a new age of prosperity. Though many claims made by emperors on their coinage contain no element of truth or reality, Hadrian's boastful claim on this aureus of the dawning of a 'Golden Age' (Saeculum Aureum) was more than mere rhetoric. With the luxury of hindsight, historians have long recognised that by Hadrian's reign the empire had entered the peak age of its existence. Mattingly, in BMCRE, comments on this issue: "A type of exceptional interest shows a youthful genius stepping out of an oval frame-the round of the years, perhaps-holding in his hand the sign of unending succession, the phoenix on a globe. He is, as the legend [tells] us, the 'Golden Age'." He notes that in using a phoenix Hadrian links his new 'Golden Age' with the earlier one under Trajan; this is a valid observation since coins that Hadrian had just recently issued for Trajan's deification use a phoenix as a reverse type. This aureus clearly is related to Hadrian's celebration of the Parilia (Romaia), the festival of Rome's birthday, which he renamed Natalis Urbis. We may presume this aureus was struck in A.D. 121, not only because of the events staged by Hadrian in that year, but also because a related type that honours the 874th birthday of Rome (see lot 217 below) actually bears the date of April 21, A.D. 121. Aleius Aristides reports that some years afterward the ceremonies for Rome's birthday were held at the tempulum Urbis, which Hadrian had begun to construct in this same year, 121.