Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Hadrian Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 134-138. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right / BRITANNIA, Britannia seated slightly left, head facing and resting on right arm, with spear lying on left arm and right foot set on rocks; round shield to right; SC in exergue. RIC II 845; BMC 1723 (same obverse die); SCBC 636. 22.03g, 32mm, 6h.
Good Very Fine; untouched emerald green patina. Extremely Rare.
Featured continuously on British coins from 1672-2008, Britannia is the Roman personification of the island province of Britain, and first appeared on coins during the reign of Hadrian as this well preserved example illustrates. Intended to be a visual signifier of the province itself, Britannia is appropriately equipped with a spear and a distinctive shield with a sharp central point, both military attributes referencing Britain's position at the farthest edge of Roman power. She is also well clothed against the inclement weather of the island in a birrus Britannicus, or hooded cloak.
Hadrian's reign was characterised by his travels abroad as he gave direct instruction for the defence and enhancement of the empire. He is known to have visited Britain in around AD 122, when he ordered that the northern frontier of the empire be protected by a monumental construction known to us as Hadrian's Wall.
Good Very Fine; untouched emerald green patina. Extremely Rare.
Featured continuously on British coins from 1672-2008, Britannia is the Roman personification of the island province of Britain, and first appeared on coins during the reign of Hadrian as this well preserved example illustrates. Intended to be a visual signifier of the province itself, Britannia is appropriately equipped with a spear and a distinctive shield with a sharp central point, both military attributes referencing Britain's position at the farthest edge of Roman power. She is also well clothed against the inclement weather of the island in a birrus Britannicus, or hooded cloak.
Hadrian's reign was characterised by his travels abroad as he gave direct instruction for the defence and enhancement of the empire. He is known to have visited Britain in around AD 122, when he ordered that the northern frontier of the empire be protected by a monumental construction known to us as Hadrian's Wall.