The COS III dating places this issue within Hadrian's third consulship, held from 119 AD onward, but the LIBERALITAS type specifically referencing his fifth congiarium — a direct cash distribution to the Roman populace — narrows it to the 129–130 window. Hadrian conducted at least five such distributions during his reign, more than almost any of his predecessors, partly as political management during his extended provincial tours that kept him absent from Rome for years at a stretch.
The personification of Liberalitas on the reverse held an abacus, the counting board used by officials tallying distributions at the treasury.
The COS III dating places this issue within Hadrian's third consulship, held from 119 AD onward, but the LIBERALITAS type specifically referencing his fifth congiarium — a direct cash distribution to the Roman populace — narrows it to the 129–130 window. Hadrian conducted at least five such distributions during his reign, more than almost any of his predecessors, partly as political management during his extended provincial tours that kept him absent from Rome for years at a stretch.
The personification of Liberalitas on the reverse held an abacus, the counting board used by officials tallying distributions at the treasury.