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| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 117 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Hadrian facing right, viewed from the front, with finely rendered hair curls beneath the laurel wreath. The emperor's muscular cuirass and draped paludamentum are visible at the truncation. The surrounding circular legend is inscribed in Latin and runs from left to right around the periphery of the flan, which displays the characteristic irregular edge typical of early Hadrianic hammered coinage. The portrait reflects the idealized yet individualised style of the Trajanic-Hadrianic school of die-cutting. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Struck in 117 AD, the year Hadrian assumed power under deeply suspicious circumstances — Trajan died in Cilicia before formally adopting him, and the adoption document was widely rumored to have been forged by Trajan's wife Plotina. The legends on this early issue emphasize Hadrian's legitimacy through Nerva's lineage, a calculated response to a shaky accession that required immediate senatorial management.
RIC II.3 #55 belongs to the first emission of Hadrian's reign, before the titulature stabilized.