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Denarius - Hadrian GERMANIA, Germania
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 130-133 |
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| Reference(s) | RIC II.3#1515, OCRE#ric.2_3(2).hdn.1515 |
| Obverse description | Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Emperor Hadrian facing right, depicted with his characteristic short beard and curly hair. The effigy is rendered in a naturalistic Hadrianic portrait style, viewed from the front with the head in right profile. The encircling legend reads HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P in Latin capitals, distributed around the periphery of the flan. The portrait displays fine engraving detail typical of the Roman Imperial mint's output during Hadrian's later reign. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P (Translation: Hadrianus Augustus, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae. Hadrian, emperor (Augustus), consul for the third time, father of the nation.) |
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| Additional information |
This issue belongs to a series of "province" denarii struck under Hadrian, almost certainly connected to his extensive tour of the empire's frontiers during the late 120s and early 130s. Unlike most emperors who knew the Rhine and Danube borders through dispatches, Hadrian personally inspected the German frontier, reviewing troops and reportedly walking the lines himself. The series was likely conceived as an administrative and propagandistic project — acknowledging pacified or stabilized territories rather than celebrating fresh conquest, since Hadrian's policy was consolidation, not expansion.
Germania as a subject here is geographically ambiguous; it may reference the military provinces of Germania Superior and Inferior rather than unconquered trans-Rhine territory.