Denarius - Hadrian COS III

The COS III designation dates this issue to Hadrian's third consulship, held continuously from 119 AD onward as an honorific rather than an active magistracy. These years coincide with Hadrian's extensive provincial tours — the most ambitious program of imperial travel undertaken by any Roman emperor — during which the mint at Rome operated largely without his physical presence. The coinage of this period was produced in enormous volume to fund the movements of the imperial retinue and the construction projects Hadrian initiated across the provinces, including the early phases of his wall in Britain.