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Aureus - Hadrian P M TR P COS III, Jupiter
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 121-123 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | RIC II.3#515, OCRE#ric.2_3(2).hdn.515 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Jupiter seated left upon a throne, his semi-draped figure rendered in confident classical style, holding a Victory or patera in his extended right hand and a long sceptre in his left. The god's powerful seated pose conveys divine authority, his drapery falling across the lower body and throne. The reverse legend P M TR P COS III is distributed around the field in Latin capitals, reading partially on the left and right sides of the deity. The composition is balanced and centred, consistent with the high-quality engraving characteristic of Hadrianic gold coinage struck at the Rome mint. |
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| Mint | Rome |
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| Additional information |
Hadrian's early coinage as sole emperor required careful political calibration. The COS III dating places this aureus within a window when Hadrian was still consolidating authority after the executions of four senior senators in 118 AD — an act that poisoned his relationship with the Senate from the outset and never fully healed. Jupiter imagery in this period carried deliberate weight: invoking the chief deity aligned the emperor with divine sanction at precisely the moment his legitimacy was most contested.
RIC II.3 #515 belongs to the comprehensive Spink revision of the series, which substantially reorganized earlier attributions by Mattingly and Sydenham.