Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIV 21 Sep 2017
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Hadrian AV Aureus. Rome, AD 134-138. HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP, laureate and draped bust left / AEGYPTOS, Egypt reclining left, holding a sistrum, left arm resting on a basket around which a snake coils; ibis standing before. RIC 296j; C. 98; Calicó 1186. 7.25g, 21mm, 6h.
Very Fine. Very Rare.
Ex Heidelberger 64, 20 November 2014, lot 2559.
Part of the famous 'travel series' of Hadrian struck in the latter years of the emperor's reign, this coin commemorates his visit to Egypt a few years earlier in AD 130. Heavily relied upon to supply grain to feed the people of Rome, the province of Egypt was itself entirely dependent on the annual floods of the Nile to fertilise the farmland along its banks. Furthermore, the river was a vital transport link for the ships carrying the grain to Rome, just as the Tiber was between the port of Ostia and the city.
Hadrian himself travelled up the river with the imperial entourage, including his companion Antinous, during which trip the young man tragically drowned. The ancient sources are rife with speculation as to whether this occurrence was an accident, a suicide on the part of Antinous or a sacrifice to aid the health of the emperor, but what is clear is the strong bond between the two men (Scriptores Historiae Augustae Hadrian, 14, 5-7), which led to Hadrian's encouragement of a cult in honour of a deified Antinous and his appearance on the coinage, especially in Egypt.
Depicting the personification of the province of Egypt, this type was accompanied by reverse designs that feature the personified river-god Nilus. Perhaps issued on the emperor's return to Rome, or otherwise some time thereafter, these Egypt and Nilus types must certainly have brought the emperor back bitter memories.
Very Fine. Very Rare.
Ex Heidelberger 64, 20 November 2014, lot 2559.
Part of the famous 'travel series' of Hadrian struck in the latter years of the emperor's reign, this coin commemorates his visit to Egypt a few years earlier in AD 130. Heavily relied upon to supply grain to feed the people of Rome, the province of Egypt was itself entirely dependent on the annual floods of the Nile to fertilise the farmland along its banks. Furthermore, the river was a vital transport link for the ships carrying the grain to Rome, just as the Tiber was between the port of Ostia and the city.
Hadrian himself travelled up the river with the imperial entourage, including his companion Antinous, during which trip the young man tragically drowned. The ancient sources are rife with speculation as to whether this occurrence was an accident, a suicide on the part of Antinous or a sacrifice to aid the health of the emperor, but what is clear is the strong bond between the two men (Scriptores Historiae Augustae Hadrian, 14, 5-7), which led to Hadrian's encouragement of a cult in honour of a deified Antinous and his appearance on the coinage, especially in Egypt.
Depicting the personification of the province of Egypt, this type was accompanied by reverse designs that feature the personified river-god Nilus. Perhaps issued on the emperor's return to Rome, or otherwise some time thereafter, these Egypt and Nilus types must certainly have brought the emperor back bitter memories.