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Dupondius - Hadrian VIRTVTI AVGVSTI S C, Virtus
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 119-120 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 12.5 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The personification of Virtus stands facing right in a martial pose, her right foot resting upon a helmet placed on the ground. She holds a hasta (spear) in her right hand and a parazonium (military short-sword) in her left hand, embodying the martial courage of the emperor. The senatorial authority mark S C (Senatus Consultum) appears in the field, flanking the central figure, with the reverse legend arching above. |
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| Additional information |
Hadrian's early emphasis on military virtue — VIRTVS AVGVSTI — was less a celebration of conquest than a deliberate rebranding. Unlike Trajan, who had spent his reign expanding the empire, Hadrian immediately began contracting it, abandoning Mesopotamia and pulling back from Trajan's eastern acquisitions within months of taking power in 117 AD. The VIRTVS coinage of 119–120 belongs to a calculated messaging campaign: virtue redefined as disciplined defense rather than aggressive expansion.
RIC II.3 #280 falls within the reorganized third edition of RIC volume II, which substantially revised the earlier Carson/Sutherland attributions for Hadrianic bronze.