Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 480 11 Nov 2020
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Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ As (25mm, 7.87 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 119-circa mid 120. Laureate bust right, slight drapery / BRITANNIA in exergue, Britannia seated left, head facing, foot on rock, resting head on hand and holding scepter, elbow resting on large shield with prominent spike to right. RIC II.3 241; SCBC 635. Rough brown surfaces. Good Fine.
This scarce As was struck during the long series commemorating Hadrian's travels around the empire. Between AD 119 and the mid 130s, the emperor traveled throughout the Roman Empire, visiting various provinces to take stock of his inheritance and calm the disquiet which had arisen in the later years of Trajan's reign. His travels can be divided into two major episodes, and this coin was struck in commemoration of the first of these. This tour was designed to shore-up Rome's northern borders and began sometime around AD 119 when Hadrian first visited the provinces of Gaul and Germania Inferior and Superior. The emperor then crossed the Channel to Britannia where, during his stay, construction began on a seventy-three-mile long wall across the north of the province, known to this day as Hadrian's Wall. In AD 122-123, Hadrian spent time in Hispania, then travelled east to Asia Minor. The remainder of this first tour was spent in the Balkans and Greece, touring such areas as Dacia and Achaea, before returning to Rome, via Sicily, in AD 126.
This scarce As was struck during the long series commemorating Hadrian's travels around the empire. Between AD 119 and the mid 130s, the emperor traveled throughout the Roman Empire, visiting various provinces to take stock of his inheritance and calm the disquiet which had arisen in the later years of Trajan's reign. His travels can be divided into two major episodes, and this coin was struck in commemoration of the first of these. This tour was designed to shore-up Rome's northern borders and began sometime around AD 119 when Hadrian first visited the provinces of Gaul and Germania Inferior and Superior. The emperor then crossed the Channel to Britannia where, during his stay, construction began on a seventy-three-mile long wall across the north of the province, known to this day as Hadrian's Wall. In AD 122-123, Hadrian spent time in Hispania, then travelled east to Asia Minor. The remainder of this first tour was spent in the Balkans and Greece, touring such areas as Dacia and Achaea, before returning to Rome, via Sicily, in AD 126.