Denarius - Hadrian P M TR P COS III, Pietas

Struck in Hadrian's third consulship, this issue dates to the opening phase of his reign when he was still consolidating authority after the controversial executions of four senior senators — men who had served Trajan and whom Hadrian almost certainly ordered killed, though he publicly blamed the Senate. The Pietas type belongs to a broader programmatic effort to project piety and constitutional legitimacy precisely because both were in question.