Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
AR27 - Hadrian COM - BIT (in field), ROM S P AVG (in entablature)
| Issuer | Koinon of Bithynia (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 117-138 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 10.62 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Bare-headed, laureate and bearded bust of Emperor Hadrian facing right, rendered in high relief with finely detailed curling hair and short beard characteristic of Hadrianic portraiture. The neck is truncated, with drapery visible at the left shoulder. A circular Latin legend runs along the periphery of the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Frontal view of an octastyle temple set upon a three-stepped podium (stylobate), depicted in schematic perspective with eight fluted columns supporting a dentilled entablature and a pediment with acroteria. The inscription ROM S P AVG is inscribed across the entablature frieze, while COM and BIT appear in the left and right fields respectively, flanking the temple facade. The overall composition is bold and architecturally precise, consistent with Hadrianic provincial coinage celebrating the imperial cult. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Koinon of Bithynia held the right to strike provincial silver on only rare occasions, making this issue notable within the broader category of Greek Imperial coinage. The COM BIT legend identifies it as a product of the provincial assembly — the koinon itself acting as issuing authority rather than any individual city mint. Hadrian actively cultivated such relationships with provincial councils during his extensive tours of the eastern provinces, visits that directly stimulated honorific and commemorative striking.
The ROM S P AVG formula in the entablature locates this within a small group of Bithynian issues referencing the Roman Senate's role in Hadrian's acclamation — politically pointed wording in a province still navigating its loyalties after Trajan's death.