Watch List notes:

Hadrian. Sestertius; Hadrian; 117-138 AD, Rome, c. 132 AD, Sestertius, 26.46g. BM-1659, C-55 (25 Fr.), RIC-890, bust var. of Hendin-1604. Obv: HADRIANVS - AVG COS III P P Bust laureate, draped r., seen from side. Rx: ADVENT - VI - AVG - IVDA[EAE] around, S C in exergue, Hadrian raising r. hand in greeting, standing before altar at which Judaea sacrifices from patera; l. and r. of Judaea, naked boys holding palm branches; slain bull behind altar. The boys accompanying Judaea, who appear in no other "Arrival" type of Hadrian, probably refer to Hadrian's plan to establish a new city called Aelia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed in 70 AD. Judaea's symbol was the palm tree, which may be the reason why the boy are holding palm branches. There is unpublished numimatic evidence to support Mildenberg's view that this Judaean arrival type, along with the rest of Hadrian's "Province" series, was struck c. 131-132 AD, before the outbreak of the second Jewish revolt, rather than after the suppression of the revolt and the end of the Bar Kokhba War in 135 AD, as believed by Strack, Mattingly, and P.V. Hill (Mildenberg, Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War, pp. 97-99).This is one of the rarer types of Hadrian's Arrival series, commemorating his visit to Judaea in 130 AD, shortly before the outbreak of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Despite the loss of the last three letters of IVDAEAE in the reverse legend, this coin is of exceptional quality, with wonderful brown untouched surfaces. It is an outstanding example of one of the rarest Jewish-reference coins in the Roman Imperial series. VF

Buy price: $16500