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Aureus - Sabina Vesta
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 128-129 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Vesta, goddess of the sacred hearth, seated left upon an ornate throne with decorative legs, her figure fully draped in flowing robes. In her extended right hand she holds the Palladium, the small cult statue of Pallas Athena symbolic of Rome's eternal protection, while her left hand rests upon a long transverse sceptre. The composition is enclosed within a beaded border, with the reverse field left plain, emphasising the dignified, classicising rendering of the deity characteristic of Hadrianic coinage. |
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| Mint | Rome Mint |
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| Additional information |
Sabina, wife of Hadrian, received her first formal elevation in imperial titulature around 128 AD, and this issue likely belongs to that moment of deliberate court promotion rather than any organic celebration. Hadrian's coinage program for Sabina was extensive and clearly orchestrated — she appears across multiple types in rapid succession during these years, a calculated projection of dynastic stability from an emperor who had no biological heir and whose own legitimacy had been contested at his accession.
The Vesta association was a pointed choice for an empress whose marriage to Hadrian was, by most ancient accounts, deeply unhappy.