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Dupondius or As - Lucius Aelius TR POT COS II S C, Fortuna and Spes
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 137 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Lucius Aelius Caesar facing left, portrayed in profile with the paludamentum visible over the shoulder. The effigy is rendered in the Hadrianic court style, with naturalistic facial features. The encircling Latin legend reads L AELIVS CAESAR around the periphery of the flan. The coin exhibits heavy patination and surface encrustation consistent with its age, though the portrait type remains identifiable. The flan is irregular in shape, typical of hammered aes coinage of the Hadrianic period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Lucius Aelius was Hadrian's chosen successor, adopted in 136 AD in a move that surprised the senate and struck many contemporaries as politically calculated rather than dynastic. He died of tuberculosis on January 1, 138, before Hadrian himself — making his entire coinage, including this issue, the product of a single interrupted year as Caesar. Hadrian then adopted Antoninus Pius and compelled him to adopt the future Marcus Aurelius, essentially using Aelius as a dynastic stepping stone whose coins document a succession plan that collapsed entirely.
The TR POT dating and COS II designation place this piece firmly in 137, Aelius's second and final consulship.