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Aureus - Hadrian P M TR P COS III LIB PVB, Libertas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 120-121 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 19.5 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Libertas, personification of public freedom, seated left on a throne or chair, her body draped in a long garment. She extends a branch in her right hand toward the left field and holds a tall vertical sceptre in her left hand. The legend P M TR P COS III appears in the field to the left and right of the figure, while LIB PVB is inscribed in the exergue below, identifying the allegorical figure as Libertas Publica. |
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| Additional information |
The "Libertas" aurei of Hadrian's early sole reign belong to a broader programmatic issue advertising his liberalitas — specifically the remission of outstanding tax debts owed to the imperial fiscus, a gesture he made upon his accession in 117 AD and again commemorated in coin. Ancient sources, including the Historia Augusta, record that Hadrian ordered the debt records publicly burned in the Forum of Trajan, canceling arrears totaling some 900 million sesterces.
RIC II.3 #360 falls within the third consulship dating, pinning it to 119–121 and placing it among the earliest consolidated mint output after Hadrian's return to Rome from the provinces.