Dupondius - Hadrian HILARITAS P R COS III S C, Hilaritas

Hadrian's HILARITAS P R coinage — "the joy of the Roman people" — belongs to a sustained program of ideological issues he launched after consolidating his position following the turbulent accession years. The COS III dating places this squarely in his middle reign, after 119 AD, when he had abandoned Trajan's expansionist policy and drawn the empire back to defensible frontiers. The choice of Hilaritas was deliberate political messaging: a ruler who contracts an empire needs to explain why his people should be content about it.