Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3056 3 Aug 2017
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Hadrian (AD 117-138). AV aureus (19mm, 7.05 gm, 6h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 125-128. AVGVSTVS HADRIANVS, bareheaded, draped bust of Hadrian right / CO-S II-I, Hadrian in military attire riding rearing horse right, cloak flowing out behind, holding level spear in right hand. RIC --, cf. 187 (obverse legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, different bust varieties). Cohen --, cf. 414 (same). Calicó --, cf. 1224-1226a (HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, different busts). Cf. Strack, Die Rechsprangung Zur Zeit Des Hadrian (Stuttgart, 1935), 146 (same obverse die, different reverse type). Extremely rare, likely unique.
Save for one recorded example recorded in the German-language corpus by L. Strack in 1935 (struck from the same obverse die as our example), all other known Hadrian aurei of this era (circa AD 125-128) have the obverse legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS with the emperor's name starting to the left of the bust. The Golden Gate specimen reverses the formula, with AVGVSTVS to the left of the imperial bust and HADRIANVS to the right. The bust type itself, bareheaded and draped, is likewise unrecorded for this reverse type. Here we have that most unusual of numismatic rarities, on several levels, an apparently unrecorded and unique aureus of one of Rome's most famous and well-documented rulers.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD
Hadrian (AD 117-138). AV aureus (19mm, 7.05 gm, 6h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 125-128. AVGVSTVS HADRIANVS, bareheaded, draped bust of Hadrian right / CO-S II-I, Hadrian in military attire riding rearing horse right, cloak flowing out behind, holding level spear in right hand. RIC --, cf. 187 (obverse legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, different bust varieties). Cohen --, cf. 414 (same). Calicó --, cf. 1224-1226a (HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, different busts). Cf. Strack, Die Rechsprangung Zur Zeit Des Hadrian (Stuttgart, 1935), 146 (same obverse die, different reverse type). Extremely rare, likely unique.
Save for one recorded example recorded in the German-language corpus by L. Strack in 1935 (struck from the same obverse die as our example), all other known Hadrian aurei of this era (circa AD 125-128) have the obverse legend HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS with the emperor's name starting to the left of the bust. The Golden Gate specimen reverses the formula, with AVGVSTVS to the left of the imperial bust and HADRIANVS to the right. The bust type itself, bareheaded and draped, is likewise unrecorded for this reverse type. Here we have that most unusual of numismatic rarities, on several levels, an apparently unrecorded and unique aureus of one of Rome's most famous and well-documented rulers.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD