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Denarius - Sabina PIETAS AVG, Pietas
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 130-133 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | RIC II.3#2509, OCRE#ric.2_3(2).hdn.2509 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The personification of Pietas seated left on a high-backed chair (cathedra), her figure draped in flowing robes rendered with fine linear detail. She extends her right hand forward holding a patera over a small altar, while her left hand grasps an upright sceptre. The legend PIETAS AVG is inscribed in the field to either side of the figure, all within a beaded border, the type conveying the imperial virtue of piety as embodied by the empress. |
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| Reverse lettering | PIETAS AVG (Translation: Pietas Augusti. Piety of the Emperor.) |
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| Additional information |
Sabina's coinage is inseparable from the political machinery of Hadrian's court. The marriage was, by most ancient accounts, miserable — Hadrian reportedly found her temperament insufferable, and she is said to have boasted that she took measures to avoid bearing his children. Yet her official image was carefully managed throughout his reign, with the PIETAS series projecting dynastic harmony the couple almost certainly did not practice.
She was deified shortly after her death, around 136-137 AD, almost certainly under pressure from Hadrian rather than from any spontaneous senatorial impulse.