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Æ26 - Hadrian ΑΡΓΕΙωΝ
| Issuer | Argos (Achaea) |
|---|---|
| Year | 117-138 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Hadrian facing right, with paludamentum visible over the left shoulder. The effigy displays the emperor's characteristic beard and is rendered in a provincial Greek artistic style. The encircling legend reads ΑΥΤ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ΚΤΙϹΤΗϹ, identifying Hadrian with the honorific title 'the Founder.' A beaded border frames the entire obverse field. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥΤ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟ-Ϲ ΚΤΙϹΤΗϹ (Translation: Emperor Hadrian the Founder) |
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Argos was among the oldest continuous minting cities in the Greek world, and its civic bronze issues under Hadrian reflect the emperor's deliberate cultivation of Greek identity — he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, served as archon of Athens, and positioned himself as a philhellene ruler in ways no predecessor had attempted so systematically. Provincial bronzes from Achaea during his reign were civic decisions, not imperial mandates; the city itself chose to strike and bore the cost.
The reference III#365 places this within the corpus of Achaean provincials, a series where die linkage studies have shown surprisingly small production runs for Argive issues specifically.